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m 


LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


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Verrazano  the  Navigator 


OR 


NOTES    ON    GIOVANNI    DA    VERRAZANO    AND    ON    A 

PLANISPHERE    OF    1529    ILLUSTRATING    HIS 

AMERICAN    VOYAGE    IN    1524 


WITH    A    REDUCED    COPY    OF    THE    MAP 


A  Paper  Read  before  the  American  Geographical  Society  of 
New  Tork  November  28fh  1871 


J  C  BREVOORT 

A      MEMBER      OF      THE      SOCIETY 


NEW    YORK 

1874 


Extracted    from    the    Report   of  the  American    Geographical    Society 
of  New  York  for   1873. 

TWO  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  COPIES  PRINTED. 


THE   ARGUS   COMPANY, 

PRINTERS,  STEREOTYPERS  AND  BINDERS, 
ALBANY,   N.  Y. 


PREFACE. 


AT  the  request  of  the  President  of  this  Society  we 
undertook,  with  some  hesitation,  to  prepare  the  follow 
ing  notes,  embodying  all  that  can  be  gathered  together 
concerning  the  career  of  the  Florentine  Navigator  who 
appears  to  have  been  the  first  explorer  of  a  portion  of 
our  coast.  Besides  a  report  addressed  to  the  French 
King  on  his  return  from  the  voyage,  there  are  several 
ccetaneous  notices  of  the  expedition,  which  are  suffi 
cient  to  authenticate  it.  The  fact  that  a  Planisphere, 
drawn  by  a  kinsman  of  the  explorer,  about  the  year 
1529,  was  in  the  Museo  Borgiana,  had  been  published 
in  1800,  but  it  remained  unnoticed,  until  Thomassy  in 
1852  described  it  de  visu.  This  remarkable  document, 
confirming  the  report  of  1524,  and  dispelling  all  reason 
able  doubt  as  to  its  genuineness,  remained  for  some  years 
longer  unpublished.  Efforts  to  procure  a  copy  of  it  by 
various  persons  had  failed,  until  our  President  at  last 
succeeded  in  obtaining  photographs  from  it.  These, 
though  imperfect,  are  distinct  enough  to  furnish  suf 
ficient  evidence  that  the  voyage  was  made  at  the  time 
above  indicated,  and  very  nearly  as  described  in  the 
explorer's  report  to  the  King. 

To  the  paper,  as  prepared  for  the  Society,  we  have 
added  some  notes  that  further  illustrate  it,  though  not 


224081 


always  having  a  direct  bearing  upon  the  subject.  The 
map  has  been  very  carefully  copied  in  outline  from  the 
photographs,  which  it  was  found  impossible  to  reproduce 
in  any  other  way,  and  we  have  added  a  copy,  on  a  larger 
scale,  of  that  portion  of  our  coast  which  the  navigator 
claims  to  have  been  the  first  to  explore. 

The  publication  in  1825,  edited  by  Navarrete,  of 
Spanish  documents  relating  to  the  discovery  and  explo 
ration  of  America,  followed  by  the  interesting  life  of 
Columbus  by  Washington  Irving,  and  the  Examen 
Critique  by  Yon  Humboldt,  opened  a  field  for  studies 
in  American  comparative  geography  that  is  becoming 
fruitful  of  results.  The  last  named  work  is  a  guide 
which  all  must  consult.  With  a  master  hand  the  author 
combines  and  collates  all  attainable  materials,  and  draws 
light  from  sources  which  he  first  brings  to  bear  on  his 
exhaustive  investigations. 

The  interest  thus  newly  awakened  by  the  appearance 
of  these  works,  lent  fresh  activity  to  such  researches, 
bringing  out  numerous  hitherto  neglected  or  unknown 
documents.  Among  these  we  may  name  the  Coleccion 
de  Documentos  Ineditos  in  forty-one  volumes,  of  which 
a  portion  relate  to  the  Spanish- American  possessions, 
and  a  last  series  devoted  exclusively  to  America  y 
Oceania,  begun  in  1864,  and  of  which  we  have  seen 
eleven  volumes,  ending  in  1869.  The  Academy's  edition 
of  Oviedo's  full  work,  in  five  folio  volumes,  is  another 
contribution  of  a  most  valuable  nature  to  early  Ameri 
can  history.  Unluckily  all  these  Spanish  works  are 
not  accompanied  by  proper  indexes,  so  that  it  becomes 
an  arduous  task  to  consult  them. 


PREFACE.  5 

We  have  also  many  inedited  maps  appearing  since 
the  Examen  Critique  was  completed.  Among  these  we 
may  name  as  of  especial  interest  to  Americans,  the 
Monumens  de  la  Geographic  du  Moyen  Age,  which 
includes  the  curious  Planisphere  drawn  by  Juan  de  la 
Cosa  in  1500,  and  that  of  Sebastian  Cabot  of  1544.  Not 
less  interesting  is  the  Kunstmann  collection  of  eleven 
old  maps,  all  relating  to  America,  Kohl' s  fac-similes  of 
the  American  portion  of  two  valuable  Spanish  Plani 
spheres  of  1527  and  1529,  both  of  the  works  last 
named  being  accompanied  with  explanatory  text.  A 
host  of  most  interesting  papers  on  the  same  subjects 
could  be  named,  but  such  a  list  is  not  called  for  here, 
though  we  must  thank  the  author  of  the  Biblioteca 
Americana  Vetustissima  for  a  work  which  lightens  the 
labors  of  such  as  have  to  investigate  early  American 
history. 

We  must  entreat  scholars  not  to  deal  harshly  with 
us  if  they  find  many  foreign  names  misprinted  or  words 
not  properly  accented,  for  we  did  our  best  to  avoid  this 
blemish,  one  which  Mons.  Davesac  truly  says  is  peculiar 
to  Anglo-Saxon  compositors. 

NOTE. — Since  completing  this  paper  we  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  narrow  Isthmus  and  the  nameless  Western  Sea,  laid  down  on  the 
map,  just  North  of  Florida,  are  the  result  of  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
mapmaker  to  locate  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  Mar  del  Sur.  His  draught 
of  the  true  Isthmus  is  incomplete,  and  from  a  misunderstanding  of  it  as 
described  in  Owedo's  Somario  of  1526,  which  he  may  have  seen  or  heard  of, 
he  has  placed  it  thus,  and  has  puzzled  geographers  who  copied  him. 
Giovanni  himself  could  not  have  originated  this  error. 


NOTES  ON  GIOVANNI  DA  YERRAZANO  AND  ON  A 

PLANISPHERE   OF    1529,    ILLUSTRATING   HIS 

AMERICAN   VOYAGE   IN    1524,    WITH   A 

REDUCED   COPY   OF   THE   MAP. 


By  JAMES  CARSON  BREVOORT. 


BEAD    NOVEMBER    28TH,    1871. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

The  discoveries  made  in  the  great  ocean  by  Columbus 
at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  gave  to  the  Spaniards 
a  supposed  claim  not  only  to  coasts  and  islands  which 
they  had  seen,  but  also  to  all  the  unknown  lands  and 
seas  beyond  and  to  the  west  of  a  certain  meridian  of 
longitude.  This  demarcation  line,  however,  was  not 
based  on  any  better  right  than  the  partition  of  the 
heathen  and  undiscovered  countries  of  the  globe  between 
Spain  and  Portugal,  confirmed  by  the  Pope,  Alexander 
YI,  in  May  and  September,  1493,*  and  further,  but  not 
definitely  settled  between  these  two  nations  in  June,  1494. 
As  time  passed  on,  the  hopes  entertained  by  the  Spanish 
sovereigns  were  dispelled  by  the  assurance  that  the 
western  waters  did  not  anywhere,  as  supposed  by  Strabp,f 
afford  a  clear  seaway  to  the  eastern  shores  of  Asia,  ftjr  a 

*  See  Huraboldt,  Examen  Critique  and  Cosmos ;  also  Oscar  Pesch&I,  Die 
Theilung  der  Erde,  etc.,  1871. 

f  While  the  mathematicians  teach  that  the  circle  passes  behind  it  (the 
earth)  and  returns  into  itself,  so  that  did  the  magnitude  of  the  Atlantic  not 
prevent,  we  might  navigate  on  the  same  parallel  from  Spain  to  India. 
[Lib.  I.] 


8  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

new  continent  interposed  itself,  which  up  to  1524,  had 
been  found  continuous  from  Florida  to  the  distant 
southern  strait  discovered  by  Magellan. 

In  1513,  Balboaf  discovered  the  South  Sea,  thus  reveal 
ing  a  probable  Division  of  the  New  World  into  a  southern 
and  a  northern  continent,  which  last  was,  however,  sup 
posed  to  be  a  part  of  Asia  until  1540.  The  South  Sea 
was  thus  named,  because  it  was  supposed  to  lie  to  the 
south  of  this  eastern  extremity  of  Asia,  and  on  many 
maps  of.  the  time,  it  was  thus  represented.  The  proba 
bility,  however,  of  the  existence  of  a  narrow  strait  or 
water /communication  between  the  South  Sea  and  the 
Atlantic,  just  north  of  Mexico,  was  a  favorite  theory 
among  geographers,  long  believed  in,  leading  to  many 
voyages  for  its  detection,  and  which,  as  a  search  for  a 
north-west  passage,  survived  to  this  day,  when  having 
been  found,  it  turns  out  to  be  impracticable. 

It  was  the  hope  of  making  such  a  discovery  that 
impelled  the  navigator,  whose  voyage  we  are  about  to 
examine,  toward  that  part  of  the  New  World  which  still 
remained  unexplored,  and  we  shall  briefly  review  the 
geographical  discoveries  which,  up  to  the  year  1524,  had 
been  made  from  the  north  and  from  the  south,  along  the 
coast  of  the  present  United  States  of  America. 

In  1513,  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  discovered  the  mainland 
of  Florida,  and  afterwards  sent  out  exploring  expeditions 
along  its  Atlantic  coast,  which  do  not  appear  to  have  got 
beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  de  Chicora,  or  Savannah 
River,  in  latitude  32°.  He  died  in  1521  from  a  wound 
received  on  his  last  voyage  while  fighting  with  the  natives. 

The  Licentiate,  Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon,  in  1520  and 
1521,  explored  the  coast  north  of  the  Savannah,  and 
appears  to  have  reached  Cabo  Santa  Helena,  or  Cape 
Fear,  in  latitude  34°,  and  somewhat  beyond  it.  It  is 
claimed  by  some  that  his  vessels  had  reached  to  the  Bahia 
Santa  Maria^  or  Chesapeake  Bay,  before  1 526,  the  date  of 
his  last  expedition.  The  coast-line  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 


OCEANIC  EXPLORATIONS.  1) 

was  slowly  explored  from  1498  to  1518,  when  the  hope  of 
an  opening  into  the  Mar  del  Sur  was  abandoned.* 

The  coasts  of  Newfoundland,  or  Baccalaos,f  and  of 
Nova  Scotia,  or  Terra  de  Bretones,  had  been  explored  by 
the  French  and  others  on  fishing  voyages,  at  least  as  far 
south  as  Cape  Sable,  or  to  the  Penobscot  (Rio  de  Norum- 
bega),  in  latitude  43°  20',  before  1524.  These  explorations 
from  the  north  and  from  the  south  left  a  gap  between  lati 
tudes  34°  and  43°  north,  which  the  geographers  of  the 
Congress  of  Bajadoz,  in  1524,  seemed  unable  to  fill,  having 
discovered  that  no  official  examination  of  the  coast  between 
Florida  and  Terra  Nova  had  ever  been  made. 

The  hearsay  report  of  Sebastian  Cabot,  who  was  said 
to  have  followed  the  coast  from  Newfoundland  to  Florida 
without  finding  an  opening  to  the  west,  does  not  appear 
to  have  had  any  influence  on  the  question.  He  was  him 
self  one  of  the  members  of  this  Congress,  and  could  have 
cleared  up  this  point  if  he  had  really  coasted  these  shores 
in  1497  or  1498,  as  told  by  Peter  Martyr.  $ 

Estevan  Gomez,  §  a  Portuguese,  in  Spanish  employ, 
who  had  accompanied  Magellan  as  far  as  the  strait,  a 
member  of  the  Congress,  and  who  had  proposed  a  search 
along  this  unexplored  coast,  was  therefore  officially  com 
missioned  to  look  for  a  passage  westward  between  these 
parallels.  He  sailed  in  February,  1525,  and  was  absent 
about  ten  months,  coasting  from  north  to  south,  having 
distinctly  ascertained  that  a  continental  shore  filled  the 
void,  thus  completing  the  line  of  an  impenetrable  barrier 
across  a  westward  route  to  the  Spice  Islands,  extending 
from  latitude  53°  north,  to  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  in  54° 
south. 

The  return  of  the  Vittoria  in  1522,  under  Sebastian 
Del  Cano,  the  only  ship  left  of  the  five  which  had  sailed 

*  See  note,  Gulf  of  Mexico.  f  See  note,  Baccalaos. 

\  See  note,  Cabot. 

§  A  full  account  of  the  voyages  of  this  navigator  has  been  prepared,  and 
will  soon  be  published,  by  the  Hon.  Henry  C.  Murphy. 
2 


10  NOTES  ON  THE   VERRAZANO  MAP. 

in  1519  with  Magellan,  led  to  much  speculation  concern 
ing  a  nearer  way  to  the  Moluccas  than  the  one  thus 
opened  by  the  Spaniards.  Many  minds  were  excited, 
both  by  this  great  feat,  and  by  the  reports  of  the  rich 
empire  which  Cortes  was  then  conquering,  to  new  geo 
graphical  enquiry.  Cortes  himself  oifered,  in  1524,  to 
search  both  oceans  for  the  supposed  northern  strait  lead 
ing  to  the  west,  though  it  appears  that  he  confined  him 
self  to  exploring  the  South  Sea  only.* 

Meanwhile  the  attention  of  Francis  the  First  was  turned 
in  the  same  direction,  whether  from  the  report  that  such 
a  blank  was  to  be  filled  in  the  maps,  or  that  the  French 
king  had  learned  as  much  from  his  own  cosmographers. 
That  he  hoped  to  find  a  short  passage  to  the  Moluccas, 
we  know  from  the  letter  of  Giovanni  de  Verrazano  of 
1524,  who  had  been  directed  to  search  for  it.  Perhaps 
among  the  crews  of  the  vessels  captured  by  this  naviga 
tor  on  previous  corsairial  expeditions,  there  were  men 
who  had  revealed  to  him  the  state  of  Spanish  geographi 
cal  knowledge,  and  the  probability  of  a  western  passage, 
to  be  found  between  the  parallels  above  mentioned.  It 
was  also  no  doubt  the  desire  of  the  king  to  discover  a 
rich  empire  like  Mexico,  which  the  Spaniards  were  then 
plundering,  and  which  might  open  to  him  also  a  supply 
of  the  precious  metals.  Verrazano  seems  to  have  failed 
in  a  first  effort  to  sail,  with  four  vessels,  as  he  says,  north 
wardly,  but  with  one  vessel  only  he  started  again,  and 
after  an  exploration  of  some  months,  between  the  paral 
lels  of  34°  and  50°  N.  according  to  his  own  estimate,  he 
returned  with  information  that  no  passage  could  be  found. 

The  explorations  of  Verrazano  and  of  G-omez  on  the 
eastern  shores  of  North  America,  and  those  directed  by 
Cortes  on  the  west,  closed  all  hopes  of  a  short  sea-way 
to  the  Indies.  But  the  entire  disconnection  of  Asia  with 
America  was  not  positively  proved  until  Behring  dis 
covered  in  1728,  the  strait  to  which  his  name  was  given. 

*  See  notes,  Cortes  and  Ztiazo. 


THE  PLANISPHERE  OF  1529.  \  1 

DISCOVERY  OF  THE  VERRAZANO  PLANISPHERE  OF  1529. 

The  interesting  discovery  by  Mons.  R.  Thomassy,  an 
experienced  archivist,  author  of  interesting  geographical 
papers  and  of  the  geology  of  Louisiana,  among  the  maps 
of  the  College  de  Propaganda  Fide  in  Rome,  of  a  Mapa- 
mundi,  made  by  a  certain  Hieronimus  de  Verrazano, 
dating  from  about  the  year  1529,  was  first  made  known 
in  a  paper  entitled  Les  Papes  Geographies,  published  in 
the  Annalesdes  Voyages,  Paris,  1852.  *  Mons.  Thomassy 
could  hardly  have  been  aware  of  the  keen  interest  that 
such  a  discovery  would  awaken  among  those  interested 
in  early  American  explorations,  or  he  would  have  given 
a  less  meagre  account  of  this  precious  map.  He  deserves 
our  sincere  thanks,  however,  for  drawing  attention  to 
this  and  other  valuable  geographical  monuments  pre 
served  in  Rome,  and  which  seem  to  have  escaped  the 
active  research  of  Humboldt  and  Jomard.  A  study  of 
this  map  by  the  author  of  the  Examen  Critique  de  la 
GeograpJiie  dn  JVouveau  Continent,  would  have  been 
fruit  I  ul  of  results,  and  we  can  hardly  venture  to  tread  a 
path  which  he  first  opened,  without  great  diffidence,  and 
the  hope  that  the  investigation  which  we  may  only  sketch 
out,  will  by  others  be  prosecuted  to  definite  results. 

Our  remarks  are  based  upon  a  study  of  two  photo 
graphic  copies  of  the  original  map,  which,  after  long  and 
repeated  attempts,  have  kt  last,  through  the  kind  offices 
of  Mr.  Thos.  E.  Davis,  been  procured  from  Rome  by  the 
President  of  this  Society.  f 

These  photographs  are  now  before  you,  but  are  unfor 
tunately  not  distinct  enough  to  enable  us  to  read  the 
names  inscribed  along  our  coast,  between  the  points 
which  limit  the  explorations  of  our  navigator.  This  is 
most  unlucky,  and  another  copy  must  be  procured  before 
the  critical  examination  of  the  subject  can  be  properly 


*  See 

f  See  page  80  of  the  Report  of  this  Society  for  1871. 


12  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

undertaken.  We  have  deciphered  a  few  of  the  names, 
and  have  prepared  a  careful  copy  of  that  part  of  the 
Mapamundi  which  more  specially  interests  us  as  Ameri 
cans. 

The  original  map  is  on  three  large  skins  pasted  together 
forming  a  sheet,  according  to  Mons.  Thomassy,  the  first 
describer  of  the  map,  260  centimetres  long  and  130  high; 
say  102.36  inches  by  51.18  inches,  or  with  a  width  twice  as 
great  as  the  height.  It  is  a  general  map  of  the  world,  as 
known  to  the  designer  of  it,  Hieronimus  de  Verrazano," 
but  it  bears  no  date.  From  the  remark  written  under  the 
name  Nova  Gallia,  that  this  land  was  discovered  five  years 
before,  we  infer  (supposing  the  date  of  Giovanni  de  Ver- 
razano's  voyage,  as  given  himself,  to  be  1524),  that  the 
map  was  made  in  1529.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe 
that  Hieronimus  (Jerome)  was  a  brother  of  John,  and 
that  he  put  down  the  coast  here  alluded  to  from  authentic 
data  furnished  by  his  brother. 

There  are  certain  coast  features  drawn  on  the  map, 
which  are  not  alluded  to  in  the  letter,  seeming  to  prove 
that  Jerome  had  his  brother's  charts  before  him.  The 
plain  indication  of  Long  Island  Sound,  and  of  Cape  Cod, 
is  of  itself  sufficient  proof  that  it  was  compiled  from 
original  drafts  or  notes.  The  latitudes,  however,  differ 
entirely  from  those  given  in  the  letter.  The  truth,  per 
haps,  cannot  be  developed  until  this  chart,  which  is  open 
to  examination,  has  received  a  closer  study.  New  copies 
of  it  are  needed,  which  may  more  faithfully  render  the 
coast  names  and  minor  details. 

Further  remarks  on  the  map  will  be  found  in  the  notes 
to  this  paper.  *  The  great  interest  that  attaches  to  it,  in 
our  eyes,  is  the  fact  of  its  being  the  earliest  known  tracing 
of  our  coast,  as  made  from  actual  exploration. 

The  only  account  of  Verrazano's  voyage  left  to  us  is  in 
the  form  of  a  letter,  written  from  Dieppe,  July  8,  1524,  to 

*  See  note,  Verrazano  Planisphere. 


LIFE  AND   VOYAGES  OF  VERRAZANO.  13 

the  French  king,  in  which  he  gives  a  short  and  sketchy 
report  of  his  explorations,  without  naming  any  points, 
and  in  such  general  terms  that  many  have  doubted  the 
genuineness  of  the  letter.  It  was  not  published  in  France, 
but  first  appeared  in  Italian,  in  Venice,  1556,  in  the  third 
volume  of  the  Collection  of  Voyages,  edited  by  Ramusius, 
which  was  prepared  in  1553,  but  no  document  positively 
confirming  the  letter  has  since  been  found. 

No  serious  doubt,  however,  had  ever  been  raised 
impugning  the  truth  of  this  letter  until  the  late  Bucking 
ham  Smith  attempted,  in  two  critical  articles,  published 
in  1864  and  1869,  to  disprove  its  genuineness. 

LIFE  AND  VOYAGES  OF  VERRAZANO. 

Geographers,  as  well  as  historians,  meet  with  many 
historical  riddles.  Even  concerning  Columbus,  much 
remains  to  be  explained,  and  of  the  early  voyages  of 
Sebastian  Cabot  just  enough  is  known,  in  the  lack  of  fur 
ther  documentary  evidence,  to  render  the  search  for  truth 
almost  hopeless.  The  voyages  of  Americus  Vespucius 
present  a  wide  subject  for  controversy,  and  the  few  facts 
concerning  Verrazano,  whose  voyages  more  closely  than 
any  other  early  navigator  relate  to  our  own  coast,  invite 
the  most  searching  criticism  of  geographers. 

We  have,  in  this  case,  to  deal  with  an  individual  who 
was  known  under  two  characters,  as  a  privateer  and  as 
an  explorer.  On  this  account  we  must  treat  of  him  in 
each  character  separately,  in  order  not  to  confuse  the 
narrative  of  his  career.  In  later  times,  a  Hawkins  or  a 
Drake,  a  Cavendish  or  an  Anson,  united  these  opposite 
occupations  and  were  famed  in  both,  but  Verrazano' s 
exploits  as  a  corsair  have  been  hitherto  only  alluded  to 
in  scattered  notices,  and  uncertainty  rests  on  the  time  and 
manner  of  his  death.  He  was  the  first  to  show  how  the 
growing  power  of  Spain  could  be  crippled,  and  Spain,  in 
return,  has  not  honored  his  memory. 

We  have  collected  many  detached  notices  of  his  cors- 


14  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

airial  employments,  and  have  endeavored  to  partly  clear 
up  the  mystery  of  his  death. 

FAMILY  OF  VERRAZANO. 

The  Verrazano  family  belonged  to  Florence,  and  our 
navigator,  according  to  Gfiuseppi  Pelli,*  was  the  son  of 
Pietro  Andrea  and  Fiametta  Capelli.  From  the  letter  of 
Annibale  Caro,  quoted  by  Tiraboschi,f  we  learn  that  he 
had  a  brother,  probably  Hieronimus  or  Jerome,  who  com 
posed  the  map  before  us.  According  to  Prof.  Geo.  W. 
Greene,  the  Cavaliere  Andrea,  the  last  one  of  the  family 
died  at  Florence  in  1819. 

Pelli  supposes  that  Giovanni  de  Verrazano  was  born 
after  1480.  This  date,  together  with  the  fact  that  lie  had 
resided  several  years  in  Cairo  and  Syria,  $  form  the  sub 
stance  of  all  that  can  be  ascertained  about  him  in  Italy. 
Engaged  in  the  trade  of  spices,  silks  and  the  precious 
commodities  of  the  east,  which  were  slowly  brought,  after 
numerous  barters,  to  the  ports  of  the  eastern  Mediterra 
nean,  where  vessels  from  the  trading  cities  of  Italy 
awaited  them,  our  navigator  learned  what  a  gain  it  would 
be,  if  these  necessary  commodities  could  be  procured  by 
a  direct  sea  voyage  to  the  Moluccas. 

At  what  time  he  became  a  seafarer  and  on  what  seas 
he  sailed  previous  to  the  year  1521,  we  have  no  informa 
tion,  unless  we  accept  the  vague  indications  contained  in 
Carli' s  letter.  The  late  Buckingham  Smith  ascertained, 
from  Portuguese  authorities,  that  he  was  in  the  East 
Indies  in  1517,  probably  making  the  voyage  in  a  Portu 
guese  vessel.  Possibly,  after  an  experience  of  some 
years  in  the  Mediterranean,  the  cradle  of  European  nau 
tical  enterprise,  he  may  have  entered  the  service  of  Spain, 
who  at  that  time  was  drawing  soldiers  and  sailors  from 
every  part  of  Europe,  and  in  her  service  must  have 

*See  note,  Petti,  Elogio  de  Verrazano.  f  See  note,  Caro. 

\  See  note,  CarlVs  letter. 


VERRAZANO  AS  A  COKSAIR.  15 

learned  the  track  followed  by  her  vessels  for  trade  or  con 
quest  to  the  West  Indies."*  Nay,  he  may  himself  have 
sailed  to  the  West  Indies,  as  it  seems  he  did  with  the 
Portuguese  to  the  Moluccas.  The  route  to  the  latter  by 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  was  discovered  in  his  time,  and 
the  quite  recent  oceanic  discoveries  of  the  Spaniards, 
seeking  the  far  east  by  the  west,  must  have  further 
excited  his  ambition,  and  increased  his  desire  to  open  a 
still  shorter  water  communication  with  Cathay  and  the 
lands  of  the  great  Khan. 

In  1521,  Verrazano  appears  as  a  French  corsair  oft*  the 
southern  shores  of  the  Iberian  peninsula,  and  thence 
forward  Spanish  historians  make  frequent  mention  of  him 
under  the  name  of  Juan  Florin  or  Florentin,  never,  how 
ever,  adding  the  surname  Verrazano. 

VERRAZANO  AS  A  CORSAIR. 

As  a  corsair,  his  exploits  have  hitherto  been  known 
only  from  a  few  passages  in  Barciaf  and  Herrera,  while, 
curiously  enough,  the  letters  and  decades  of  Peter  Mar 
tyr  J  and  the  history  by  Bernal  Diaz,  §  which  contain 
dates  and  interesting  details  relating  to  these  incidents, 
seem  to  have  been  overlooked.  The  late  Buckingham 
Smith,  who  wrote  several  notices  of  him,  and  was  engaged 
upon  another  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  about  to 
explore  this  field. 

A  distinct  reference  to  his  predatory  cruises  against  the 
Spaniards  is  made  by  Juan  himself,  in  the  heading  of  his 
letter  to  Francis  the  First,  which  identifies  him  with  the 
feared  Juan  Florentin,  the  corsair.  | 

We  might  otherwise  hesitate  to  accept  the  fact,  which 

*  See  note,  Routes  to  tlie,  Indies. 

f  Emayo  Cronoloyico  para  la  Hist.  gen.  de  la  Florida.    Madrid,  1723. 
\0pus  Epistolarum,  Compluti  (Alcala),  1530,  and  Paris,  1670;  Decades  de 
Orbe  Now,  Alcala,  1530.     Paris,  1587. 
§Historia  Verdadera,  etc.     Madrid,  1632. 
|  See  Appendix,  Identification  of  Florin  as  Verrazano. 


16  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

is  stated  by  Barcia  alone.  Other  Spanish  authors,  such 
as  Hen-era,  speak  of  the  explorer  Verrazano,  as  if  he 
were  a  distinct  character. 

Soon  after  the  gold  producing  islands  of  the  sea  had 
been  discovered  and  made  productive  by  the  Spaniards, 
corsairs  of  various  nationalities  began  actively  to  dispute 
the  rich  spoil  of  these  new  Indies  with  their  grasping 
conquerors.  These  corsairs  watched  the  south-western 
coasts  of  the  peninsula,  and  no  doubt  many  a  rich  capture 
was  made  by  them  before  Juan  succeeded  in  his  daring 
project  of  lying  in  wait  to  seize  the  treasure- ships  of 
Cortes. 

The  first  gold  from  Mexico,  together  with  curious  speci 
mens  of  the  handicraft  of  the  natives,  collected  by  Juan 
de  Grijalva  in  1518,  was  sent  to  Diego  Velasquez,  the 
governor  of  Cuba,  in  charge  of  Pedro  de  Alvarado  ;  and 
the  king's  share  was  received  in  Spain  early  in  1519. 
The  first  treasure  collected  by  Hernando  Cortes,  who 
landed  in  Mexico  in  1519,  was  despatched  direct  to  Spain,* 
the  vessel  sailing  from  Villa  Rica  de  Vera  Cruz,  July  26, 
1519,  in  charge  of  Alonzo  Hernandez  de  Puertocarrero 
and  Francisco  de  Montejo,  and  arriving  at  San  Lucar  in 
October,  f  after  a  short  stoppage  in  Cuba. 

The  king,  however,  was  at  that  time  in  Flanders,  and 
the  treasure  was  not  presented  to  him  until  March,  1520, 
at  Tordesillas.  $  No  doubt,  the  news  of  this  rich  arrival 
was  at  once  noised  abroad,  and  led  to  the  fitting  out  of 
corsairs  by  France,  in  order  to  share  in  the  golden  harvests 
of  the  Spaniards. 


*The  vessel  was  carried  by  Alaminos,  her  pilot,  through  the  Florida  chan 
nel  (reconnoitered  by  him  in  1513,  while  accompanying  Ponce  de  Leon),  in 
order  to  avoid  passing  near  Cuba.  It  was  the  first  voyage  to  Spain  made  by 
this  route. 

fSee  Peter  Martyr's  letter  of  December  2d,  1519. 

J  A  more  correct  account,  by  an  unknown  hand,  given  in  the  Documentos 
Ineditos  vol.  i,  1842,  p.  421,  says  that  the  first  things  gent  by  Cortes  were 
presented  to  the  emperor,  in  Yalladolid,  during  holy  week  (April  1-$),  1520. 


VERRAZANO  AS  A  COKSAIR.  ]  7 

Another  consignment  of  gold  from  Hispaniola,  accord 
ing  to  Peter  Martyr,*  fell  into  the  hands  of  Juan  Florentin 
in  1521,  being  his  first  recorded  capture  of  treasure. 
Peter  Martyr  estimates  the  value  of  this  prize  at  80,000 
ducats,  besides  a  large  quantity  of  pearls  and  sugar,  f 

As  Cortes  despatched  his  vessels  directly  home,  with 
out  permitting  them  to  stop  at  any  of  the  West  India 
islands,  and  as  this  vessel  was  from  Hispaniola,  it  seems 
certain  that  it  was  not  sent  by  the  conqueror  of  Mexico. 
Barcia  gives  the  same  date,  but  the  ship  he  speaks  of  was 
taken  in  15234  Bernal  Diaz  does  not  speak  of  this 
vessel's  capture,  as  it  was  not  one  sent  by  Cortes. 

Herrera  ||  gives,  perhaps,  the  most  reliable  account  of 
the  doings  of  the  French  corsairs  in  this-  year.  He  says 
that  these  corsairs  were  cruising  on  the  coasts  of  Anda 
lusia  and  the  Algarves,  watching  for  vessels  from  the 
Indies.  Four  or  five  vessels  were  therefore  ordered  to 
be  fitted  out  at  the  cost  of  the  foreign  merchants,  and  the 
command  of  them  was  entrusted  to  Don  Pedro  Manrique, 
brother  of  the  Conde  de  Osorno.  Two  of  them  were  com 
manded  by  Estevan  Gomez  and  Alvaro  de  la  Mesquita. 
The  first  of  these  was  a  pilot  under  Magellan,  and  had 
abandoned  his  commander  October  8,  1520,  when  partly 
through  the  strait,  imprisoning  Mesquita,  his  nephew, 
captain  of  the  San  Antonio.  They  had  reached  Seville, 
May  6th,  1521,  and  while  awaiting  the  issue  of  their  dis 
pute  were  thus  ordered  into  service. 

Just  as  they  were  about  to  sail,  news  was  brought  that 
the  French  corsairs  had  taken  two  out  of  three  caravel  a 
coming  from  the  Indies.  The  third,  with  the  smaller 
part  of  the  treasure,  was  said  to  have  escaped.  It  was 


*  See  his  letter  of  November  19,  1522,  and  decade  v,  chap.  8. 
f  See  notes,  Martyr,  Dec.  v,  chap.  8.     His  letter  of  March  6,  1521,  men 
tions  the  arrival  of  a  despatch,  and  speaks  only  of  treasure  expected. 
\  Emayo,  1723,  page  8,  see  note,  Barcia. 
||  Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  I,  Cap.  XIV,  1521. 


18  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

added  tliat  the  corsairs  were  watching  to  make  the  cap 
ture  of  five  expected  Portuguese  vessels. 

A  light  vessel  was  therefore  sent  to  the  Azores  to  warn 
these  of  the  danger  they  were  in,  and  the  convoy  then 
started  in  pursuit  of  the  corsairs.  It  found,  on  the  24th 
of  June,  seven  French  vessels  anchored  under  Cape  St. 
Vincent,  which  came  out  to  meet  it  and  gave  battle. 
The  French  retired  at  last,  and  were  chased  all  night, 
but  in  the  morning  turned  on  their  pursuers.  Manrique 
got  the  wind  of  them,  when  they  again  fled,  and  were 
chased  forty  leagues.  He  recaptured  a  prize  loaded  with 
wheat,  and  another  with  artillery  and  arms,  and  took  all 
the  small  boats  of  the  French. 

Manrique  returned  to  San  Lucar  to  repair  damages, 
hastening  matters  by  a  forced  levy  on  the  merchants,  as 
he  wished  to  join  a  Portuguese  fleet,  going  to  the  islands 
to  convoy  the  vessels  from  Calcutta. 

Having  waited  at  the  islands  until  August,  it  became 
certain  that  the  five  ships  would  not  arrive  this  year  from 
the  east,  so  Manricjue  left  the  Portuguese  fleet  there,  with 
supplies  for  the  expected  vessels,  and  cruised  on  the 
Spanish  coast,  having  learned  from  a  vessel  plundered 
near  Gralicia,  that  twenty -six  corsairs  had  been  seen  in 
one  place  and  twenty  in  another. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  French  corsairs  were 
very  active  in  this  year,  but  Hen-era  does  not  mention 
Florin  as  a  commander  of  any  of  them.  Martyr  alone 
names  him,  and  we  depend  upon  his  authority  only. 
No  captures  of  treasure-vessels  are  reported  as  having 
been  made  after  the  month  of  May.  No  doubt  the 
treasure  taken  early  in  the  year  was  at  once  sent  home, 
probably  to  La  Rochelle,  which  appears  to  have  been 
the  place  where  Juan  had  been  fitted  for  the  cruise. 

The  coast  of  Andalusia,  between  Gibraltar  and  Cadiz 
is  high  and  indented  by  wild  and  sterile  valleys,  then 
almost  uninhabited,  and  the  pirates  would  lie  there, 
watching  from  the  heights  for  approaching  vessels,  which 


VERRAZANO  AS  A  CORSAIR.  19 

habitually  sighted  Cape  Trafalgar  on  their  return  from 
either  of  the  Indies.  On  this  account  homeward-bound 
vessels,  about  1524,  were  ordered  to  make  for  the  port  of 
Corunna.* 

During  the  rest  of  1521,  or  in  1522,  Verrazano  may 
have  attempted  the  first  voyage  of  discovery  alluded  to 
in  his  letter  to  King  Francis,  but  of  this  we  shall  speak 
further  on. 

On  this  first  cruise  he  says  he  had  four  vessels,  and  the 
expression  in  the  preamble  to  the  letter,  ' '  that  which  had 
been  accomplisJied  by  the  four  ships,"  alludes,  no  doubt, 
to  the  rich  spoil  he  had  taken  from  the  Spaniards  in  1521, 
as  well  as  to  the  attempt  to  sail  to  the  north-west.  This 
supposition  finds  confirmation  in  the  same  heading  of 
the  letter,  where,  in  allusion  to  another  cruise,  the  words 
"what  we  did  with  this  fleet  of  war"  seem  to  refer  to 
his  great  capture  of  1523.  He  was  not  making  open  war 
on  the  Spaniards,  and  had,  no  doubt,  been  instructed  to 
conceal  all  mention  of  any  aggressive  acts  toward  them. 

In  1522,  he  seems  to  have  made  an  unsuccessful  cruise, 
at  least  if  we  can  believe  Viera,  the  historian  of  the 
Canaries,  f  who,  writing  in  1772,  seems  to  have  neglected 
the  authors  we  have  quoted,  but  derives  his  information 
on  the  subject  of  Verrazano  from  the  MS.  history  of  Don 
Pedro  Augustin  del  Castillo,  preserved  in  Teneriffe.  In 
this  year,  as  he  says,  the  governor  of  these  islands,  Pedro 
Suares  de  Castilla,  ordered  a  squadron  of  five  small  ves 
sels  to  seek  for  the  corsair.  It  met  him  off  the  Punta  de 
Gando,  with  seven  captured  emigrant  vessels,  which  he 
had  taken  while  on  their  way  from  Cadiz  to  the  islands. 
He  was  chased  and  forced  to  release  his  prizes,  which 
seem  to  have  been  of  little  value.  Viera  adds  that  he 
betook  himself  to  the  Azores,  and  there  captured  two 
treasure-ships  of  Cortes,  but  this  occurred,  as  we  shall 
see,  in  1523.  It  is  uncertain  whether  he  returned  in  1522 

*  See  notes,  Martyr,  Dec.  8.  f  See  notes,  Viera. 


20  NOTES  ON  THE  VEKKAZANO  MAP. 

to  France,  or  remained  in  Spanish  waters.  Martyr,*  in 
1522,  records  a  rumor  that  the  French  pirates  had  fifteen 
ships,  and  that  many  of  them  were  cast  away  on  the 
coast  of  Africa.  This  report  may  have  been  a  garbled 
version  of  the  story  told  by  Yiera. 

On  the  15th  of  May,  1522,  Cortes  despatched  his  third 
letter  to  the  king,  dating  it  from  Cuyoacan,  near  Mexico, 
after  the  capture  of  the  capital.  The  consignment  accom 
panying  this  letter  comprised  in  treasure,  jewels,  rarities 
and  live  animals,  the  most  valuable  collection  hitherto 
sent  from  the  Western  Indies  to  Spain.  It  included  the 
emperor's  fifth,  a  present  from  Cortes  and  his^nen  to  the 
monarch,  and  consignments  to  individuals.  Two  of  the 
three  vessels  bearing  this  precious  freight  were  in  charge 
of  Antonio  de  Quifiones  and  Alonzo  de  Avila,  Diego  de 
Ordaz  and  Alonzo  de  Mendoza,  while  Juan  de  Ribera,  the 
secretary  of  Cortes,  was  made  the  chief  envoy,  and 
entrusted  with  the  despatches  and  the  presentation  of  the 
imperial  share  of  the  treasure,  borne  on  the  third  vessel,  f 
A  glowing  description  of  the  treasure  and  curiosities  can 
be  found  in  some  detail  in  Martyr,  Oviedo,  Gromara. 
Herrera  and  other  Spanish  historians. 

According  to  Bernal  Diaz,  these  vessels  left  Vera  Cruz 
on  the  20th  of  December,  1522.  This  date  is  erroneous, 
and  although  we  do  not  know  the  exact  day  of  their 
departure,  it  was  made,  probably,  in  June,  1522.  They 
passed  into  the  Atlantic  through  the  channel  of  the 
Bahamas,  piloted,  as  before,  by  Antonio  de  Alaminos, 
the  discoverer  of  this  passage.:];  One  notable  event  of  the 
voyage  was  the  escape  from  its  cage  of  a  tiger,  which 
killed  and  wounded  several  sailors.  The  little  fleet  put 
in  at  the  Azores,  where  two  of  the  vessels,  fearing  corsairs, 
concluded  to  remain,  and  actually  stayed,  over  the  winter, 

*Dec.  5th,  chap.  8, 

f  According  to  Martyr.  Herrera,  Dec.  III.  Lib.  Ill,  Cap.  I,  is  confused  on 
the  subject, 
t  See  notes,  Gulf  of  Mexico. 


VERRAZANO  AS  A  CORSAIR.  21 

but  the  third,  bearing  Juan  de  Ribera  and  a  small  part 
of  the  treasure,  continued  the  voyage  and  reached  Spain 
in  safety.  The  treasure  had  been  long  expected,  and 
Peter  Martyr  says,  in  a  letter  of  July  14th,  1522,  that  the 
vessels  had  been  sighted  off  the  coast,  but  this  proved  a 
false  report.  In  his  letter  of  November  19th,  *  he  speaks 
of  Juan  de  Ribera' s  quite  recent  arrival.  Tired  of  wait 
ing  at  the  Azores,  Diego  de  Ordaz  and  some  others  also 
reached  home  safely,  in  a  Portuguese  vessel. 

In  1523,  f  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  either  of  its  own 
accord  or  acting  on  a  decree  of  the  emperor,  had  instructed 
Capt.  Domingo  Alonzo  to  convoy  a  fleet  of  East  Indian 
bound  vessels  as  far  as  the  Canaries,  :f  and  then  repair  to 
the  Azores,  with  his  three  caravels,  and  convoy  the  Mexi 
can  vessels  home.  The  rich  convoy  sailed  from  Santa 
Maria,  of  the  Azores,  about  the  middle  or  end  of  May, 
1523.  It  consisted  of  the  three  vessels  of  war,  the  two 
treasure-ships  of  Cortes,  and  of  another  treasure-ship 
from  Espauola.  When  the  fleet  were  just  about  to  sight 
Cape  St.  Vincent,  and  were  thirty-five  geographical  miles 
(ten  Spanish  leagues)  from  it,  a  fleet  of  six  vessels  was 
descried  coming  to  meet  them.  Probably  they  were  mis 
taken  for  Spanish  vessels,  and  were  allowed  to  come 
close  aboard ;  at  any  rate,  the  strange  fleet  attacked  them, 
proving  to  be  armed  French  corsairs,  fitted  out  from  La 
Roche  lie,  and  under  the  command  of  the  dreaded  Juan 
Florin  himself. 

One  of  the  Spanish  caravels  took  to  flight ;  the  others 
fought  bravely,  but  were  overcome  and  forced  to  surren 
der  with  their  convoy,  Antonio  de  Quinones  being  killed 
during  the  action.  §  The  date  of  the  capture  is  not  given, 

*  See  notes,  Martyr,  Contarini. 

f  See  notes,  Martyr,  Dec.  VII,  Cap.  IV;  and  also  Cortes  de  Valladolid,  1523. 

\  These  were  the  first  Spanish  trading-vessels  bound  there,  the  Vittoria, 
under  Sebastian  del  Cano,  having  returned  a  few  months  before,  viz.,  Sep 
tember  Oth,  1522. 

§  See  note,  Herrera,  1523. 


22  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

but  Martyr's  letter  concerning  it  was  written  June  llth, 
1523,  and  Contarini'  s  on  the  7th,  probably  within  a  week 
of  its  occurrence.*  Curiously  enough,  there  is  no  distinct 
mention  of  it  in  the  decades  of  Peter  Martyr,  though  he 
speaks  of  it  in  1525  as  an  event  that  happened  three  years 
before.  The  two  treasure-ships  were  taken,  and  Herrera 
and  Gomara  include  the  ship  from  Espanola,  also.  With 
this  great  prize,  perhaps  the  largest  made  up  to  that  time, 
and  with  Davila  a  prisoner,  Florin  got  safely  home  to 
La  Rochelle.  Davila  was  kept  a  prisoner  there  for  three 
years.  A  portion  of  the  treasure  was  laid  at  the  feet  of 
Francis  the  First. 

>•  Charles  felt  the  loss  deeply,  and  soon  afterward  issued 
a  second  order,  f  of  wider  application  than  the  first  one  of 
1523,  and  the  Council  ot  the  Indies  thereupon  ordered 
that  all  homeward-bound  vessels  should  rendezvous  at 
Hispaniola,  in  order  to  be  convoyed  safely  home.  Conta 
rini  says,  that  he  ordered  pursuit  to  be  made  from  several 
ports,  offering  the  pursuers  one-half  of  the  treasure  if  it 
could  be  recaptured.^ 

The  disappointment  of  Hernan  Cortes,  when  he  learned 
of  this  loss,  may  be  imagined,  but  drawing  a  lesson  from 
experience,  he  took  measures  also,  in  order  to  avoid  such 
mishaps  in  the  future. 

The  Spaniards  complained  bitterly  of  these  depreda 
tions,  committed  by  vessels  countenanced  and  perhaps 
sent  out  by  a  friendly  sovereign,  but  the  neutrality  obli 
gations  of  those  days  were  almost  as  lax  as  those  of  some 
modern  maritime  powers.  The  Greeks,  Moors  and  Nor 
mans  had  been  leading  piratical  nations,  and  the  Norse 
taste  for  predatory  expeditions  developed  the  race  of 
buccaneers,  which  inflicted  so  much  loss  and  damage  on 
the  Spaniards  in  the  seventeenth  century.  The  jealous 

*See  note,  Martyr,  Contarini;  see  Oviedo,  for  an  estimate  of  the  value  of 
the  capture. 

f  See  Cortes  de  Toledo,  1525,  and  Herrera,  Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  VII,  Cap.  IV. 
^  See  note,  Contarini. 


VERRAZANO  AS  A  CORSAIR.  23 

colonial  policy  of  Spain  encouraged  in  other  nations  a 
desire  to  partake  in  the  rich  harvest,  and  in  the  end, 
impoverished  her.  Had  the  colonies  been  thrown  open 
to  foreign  settlement  and  to  a  trade  at  least  partially 
free,  instead  of  being  treated  as  they  were,  as  part  of  the 
royal  patrimony,  a  widely  different  result  would  have 
ensued. 

Verrazano,  who  probably  reaped  a  large  share  of  the 
treasure  and  spoils  derived  from  this  capture,  was  again 
fitted  out  with  a  stronger  fleet  than  before,  and,  accord 
ing  to  Barcia,  who  is  not  always  reliable  in  his  accounts, 
made  innumerable  prizes  in  Spanish  waters.  He  may 
have  made  another  piratical  trip  in  1523,  but  if  so,  there 
is  no  particular  mention  of  him  in  connection  with  it. 
Herrera  says,  that  Pedro  de  Manrique  was  sent  out, 
probably  after  the  decree  of  1523  had  been  issued,  with 
a  strong  fleet  of  five  vessels  to  convoy,  from  the  Azores, 
five  vessels  from  Puerto  de  la  Angra,  in  the  island  of  Ter- 
ceira,  known  as  the  Armada  de  Averias,*  and  carrying 
an  immense  treasure  of  gold,  pea,rls,  sugar,  etc.  This 
was  brought  safely  to  Seville,  and  half  the  treasure  was 
borrowed  by  the  emperor  to  pay  for  the  outfit  of  his  army 
against  Francis  the  First,  f  Perhaps  Verrazano  had 
watched  the  armament  of  Manrique,  and  finding  it  too 
strong  to  be  attacked,  resolved  to  make  a  second  attempt 
at  exploration,  refitting  in  Madeira,  and  starting  with 
the  Dauphine  alone  early  in  1524. 

After  his  return  from  this  last  voyage,  under  date  of 
July  8th,  1524,  he  writes  to  the  French  king,  reporting 
what  he  had  accomplished,  and  seems  to  have  repaired 
to  court  J  in  August,  the  king  being  at  Lyons.  We 
incline,  however,  to  the  opinion  that  he  made  other  arid 
successful  piratical  expeditions  to  his  previous  field  of 

*  One  fitted  out  by  the  custom-house  authorities. 
f  Herrera,  Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  IV,  Cap.  XXL 

t  He  was  expected  there,  according  to  Fernando  Carlis'  letter,  first  pub 
lished  in  1853;  see  notes. 


24  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

adventure.  The  story  that  he  was  taken  and  hung  in 
this  year  has  been  told  by  two  Spanish  chroniclers,  but 
it  cannot  easily  be  maintained  in  the  face  of  recorded 
facts  to  the  contrary,  which  we  shall  presently  bring  for 
ward. 

We  learn  by  a  letter  of  Peter  Martyr,  dated  August  4, 
1524,"*  that  Florinus  had  captured,  but  a  short  time  before 
this  date,  a  richly  laden  Portuguese  ship,  bringing  from 
the  Indies  a  freight  valued  at  180,000  ducats.  If  this 
prize  was  taken  at  this  date  by  Verrazano,  he  must  have 
fitted  out  for  the  cruise  in  great  haste,  if  we  are  to  accept 
the  date  of  his  letter  of  July  8th  from  Dieppe  as  a  true 
one.  Martyr  was,  no  doubt,  using  Florin's  name  in  this 
case  without  proper  authority. 

The  Council  of  the  Indies,  acting  on  the  royal  decree 
of  1523,  fitted  out  some  well-armed  Biscayan  vessels, 
which  encountered  and  captured,  in  1524,  a  piratical 
French  fleet,  and  the  pirates  were  taken  to  Seville  to  be 
tried.  That  pirates  were  taken  is  probable,  but  that 
Florinus  was  taken  with  them,  as  stated  by  Bernal  Diaz 
and  De  Barcia,  f  seems  unlikely.  Viera  does  not  speak 
of  such  a  capture,  but  as  he  writes  only  of  the  Canaries, 
he  may  have  omitted  any  reference  to  it,  as  not  being 
within  his  subject-matter.  Herrera,  the  most  reliable 
authorit}^,  is  also  silent  about  the  matter,  which  in  an 
author  otherwise  so  minute  and  careful,  is  significant. 
Peter  Martyr,  too,  so  very  communicative  on  all  such 
matters,  says  nothing  about  the  capture  and  hanging  of 
French  pirates.  The  only  authors  who  mention  such  a 
capture,  and  who  name  Florinus  as  the  captain  of  the 
pirates,  are  the  ones  above  mentioned. 

The  first  of  these,  Bernal  Diaz,  says  that  the  pirates 
were  taken  to  Seville,  and  that  Florinus,  with  other  pirate 
captains,  was  forwarded  to  Madrid,  but  that  the  king  sent 
an  order  to  hang  them  on  the  spot,  and  Diaz  adds  that 

*  See  note,  Martyr.  f  See  notes,  Bernal  Diaz  and  De  Barcia. 


o^\ 


VERRAZANO  AS  A  Cons  A  in.  25 

the  hanging  took  place  in  the  Puerto  del  Pico.  This  port 
is  on  one  of  the  Azores  of  the  same  name,  and  opposite 
Fayal,  where  criminals  had  from  a  very  old  date  been 
hung,  and  until  quite  recently  was  still  the  scene  of  such 
executions.  Bernal  Diaz  did  not,  perhaps,  know  that 
Pico  was  a  small  mountain  village  on  the  road  to  Madrid, 
and  naturally  made  the  above  mistake.  He,  however, 
was  in  Mexico  at  the  time,  and  his  authority,  in  regard  to 
the  identification  of  Florinus  with  the  person  hung  as 
leader  of  the  pirates,  is  not  of  great  weight. 

The  only  other  authority  for  the  same  facts  is  Gonzales 
de  Barcia,  who,  writing  in  1723  in  his  Ensayo  de  Florida^ 
under  the  year  1524,  says  that  four  Biscayan  vessels  took 
Florinus  and  carried  him  to  Seville,  with  his  companions. 
He  adds  that  they  were  sent,  or  were  about  to  be  sent,  to 
Madrid,  but  that  to  satisfy  an  influential  and  angry  clamor 
he  was  hung  in  the  Puerto  del  Pico,  together  with  the 
other  pirate  captains.  Barcia,  who  seems  to  have  copied 
Bernal  Diaz  and  made  his  confusion  still  worse,  seems  to 
have  made  another  mistake,  for  it  is  improbable  that  the 
corsair  chiefs,  once  in  Seville,  should  have  been  sent  to 
the  Azores  for  execution. 

The  late  Buckingham  Smith  assured  us  that  he  had 
been  to  the  village  of  Pico,  and  that  he  had  seen  and 
copied  the  order  for  the  execution.  Unluckily,  as  he 
stated,  the  order,  signed  by  the  king,  was  given  at  Lerma, 
where  the  court  then  was,  but  bore  no  date.  These  docu 
ments  of  Mr.  Smith,  which  are  soon  to  be  published,  and 
to  which,  on  that  account,  access  has  been  denied  us, 
would  prove  that  some  pirates  were  executed  at  Pico, 
while  the  king  was  at  Lerma ;  but  the  name  Florinus, 
even  if  it  appears  in  the  judge's  order,  would  not  prove 
that  the  career  of  the  corsair  ended  here. 

Notwithstanding  such  evidence,  we  hazard  the  conjec 
ture  that  the  indignant  Spaniards  did  not  get  hold  of  the 
right  man,  but  that  either  they  assumed  they  had  him  (for 
it  seems  that  the  commander  in  question  had  never  been 
4 


26  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

seen  by  the  Spaniards),  or  that  the  chief  so  mentioned 
was  a  delegate  or  lieutenant,  perhaps  a  relative,  of  our 
hero,  commanding  his  vessels  while  he  was  on  his  explor 
ing  voyage  or  attending  the  king.  This  is  not  an  improb 
able  explanation  of  what  appear  to  be  contradictory 
statements,  for  we  have  very  strong  and  positive  testi 
mony  that  our  navigator  was  alive  after  the  year  1524. 

Upon  comparing  the  accounts  left  us  by  these  two 
authors,  it  is  almost  certain  that  the  last  copied  the  first 
in  most  of  the  particulars  relating  to  Juan  Florin;  and  if 
so,  the  reported  death  of  the  corsair  at  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniards  must  be  taken  as  founded  on  hearsay  only. 

We  learn  from  Peter  Martyr  that  the  French  corsairs 
were  actively  and  successfully  cruising  for  Spanish  prizes 
in  1525,*  but  he  does  not  again  name  Florinus  as  one  of 
their  commanders.  A  French  document  of  1526-7,  to  be 
spoken  of  presently,  would  seem  to  show  that  Verrazano 
was  still  disposed  to  pick  up  a  prize,  if  possible,  and 
perhaps  he  did  so,  but  this  is  merely  conjecture.  Let 
us  however  proceed  to  that  part  of  his  career  which  more 
nearly  concerns  us,  namely  his  voyage  to  the  American 
coast  in  1524. 

VERRAZANO' s  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA. 
We  shall  now  speak  of  our  navigator  in  his  character 
of  explorer,  though  he  is  only  known  as  such  by  a  letter 
addressed  to  Francis  the  First,  just  after  his  return  from 
a  voyage  across  the  western  sea.  That  other  papers  con 
cerning  this  voyage  were  written,  we  know  from  the  state 
ment  of  Verrazano  himself,  and  from  Ramusius,  but 
these  papers  are  not  now  to  be  found.  The  letter  to 
King  Francis,  dated  at  Dieppe,  July  8th,  1524,  proposes 
to  give  an  outline  only  of  his  doings  as  an  explorer.  By 
a  singular  chance,  this  letter  or  a  copy  of  it,  found  its 
way  to  Florence,  the  home  of  its  author,  and  the  diligent 

*  See  notes,  Martyr,  Dec.  VIII,  Cap.  IX. 


VERRAZANO'S  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  27 

Ramusio,  or  as  lie  Latinized  his  name,  Ramusius  or 
Rhamnusius,  secured  it  for  the  third  volume  of  his  col 
lection  of  voyages  and  travels  (published  in  1556),  and 
prefaced  it  with  a  eulogy  of  the  navigator.  Without 
omitting  anything  of  importance,  Ramusius,  as  it  will  be 
seen,  has  amended  the  style  of  the  original  letter. 

Were  it  not  for  this  narrative,  thus  saved  from  oblivion 
by  the  Italian  geographer,  the  name  of  Verrazano  would 
have  been  an  enigma  to  after  ages  ;  for  the  meagre  notices 
of  him  elsewhere  found,  would  have  afforded  little  to 
gratify  curiosity.  For  three  hundred  years  this  letter 
was  the  only  document  attesting  the  fact  of  his  voyage, 
and  it  seemed  hopeless  to  expect  that  any  chart,  authen 
ticating  it,  though  such  an  one  had  been  seen  by  the  English 
geographer,  Hakluyt,  in  1582,  should  have  been  preserved 
to  our  times. 

The  letter  of  the  Florentine,  as  it  first  appeared  in  1556, 
unaccompanied  by  any  confirmatory  document,  might 
well  appear  to  be  of  doubtful  authenticity.  Such  a  letter 
might  easily  have  been  composed,  either  from  oral  or 
written  information,  by  a  clever  writer  familiar  with  the 
general  results  of  the  voyage  of  Estevan  Gromez,  in  1525, 
and  it  would  of  course  be  antedated,  in  order  to  establish 
a  French  claim  to  the  hitherto  unknown  coast,  from  lat. 
30°  to  45°  N,  one  thousand  geographical  miles  in  extent ; 
from  Florida  to  Bacalaos.  No  doubts  of  this  kind,  how 
ever,  appear  to  have  been  raised,  perhaps  because  Verra 
zano  and  his  voyage  were  too  well  known  at  the  time,  to 
permit  such  doubts  to  be  entertained.  The  exploration 
is  confidently  spoken  of  by  Pierre  Crignon,  in  1539,'*  as 
having  been  made  fifteen  years  before  this  date.  Ramu 
sius  publishes  Crignon' s  Memoir  in  1556,  f  in  the  same 
volume  which  contains  the  Florentine's  letter  and  no 
doubt  was  ever  raised  against  the  voyage  until  recently. 
A  map  similar  to  the  one  described  below,  seems  to  have 

*  See  notes,  Estancdin.  f  See  notes,  Ramusius. 


28  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

been  generally  known  to  geographers  about  1530,  for  the 
great  western  sea,  which  is  depicted  on  the  map  found  in 
Rome,  appears  on  charts  after  that  date,  and  the  name 
New  France  was  given  to  our  coasts,  by  all  except  Span 
ish  geographers,*  even  before  Cartier's  voyage  of  1534, 
and  before  the  third  volume  of  Rarnusins  was  published. 

Verrazano  was  probably  familiar  with  all  previous 
explorations  of  the  New  World,  including  the  recent 
return  of  Magellan's  last  vessel,  and  had  learned  also 
that  the  only  unexplored  gap  in  the  line  of  the  new  con 
tinent  was  comprised  within  certain  limits,  say  from  lati 
tude  34°  to  45°  North.  The  avowed  object  of  his  voyage 
was,  therefore,  the  discovery  of  a  strait  or  passage  within 
these  parallels,  to  Cathay  and  the  Spice  Islands,  shorter 
than  the  one  discovered  by  Magellan  in  the  far  south. 

Finding  the  New  World  as  a  great  barrier  to  the 
approach  of  the  rich  East,  and  realising  after  the  dis 
covery  in  1513  by  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  of  the  South 
Sea,  near  Panama,  and  the  long  voyage  across  it  by 
Magellan  in  1521,  that  Asia  was  not  connected  with 
America,  within  tlie  tropics,  the  Spaniards  had  almost 
abandoned  the  search  for  a  nearer  passage  by  sea  to  the 
Moluccas,  Cipango  and  Cathay.  Just  at  this  time,  Yerra- 
zano  made  his  adventurous  voyage,  unsuccessful  as  to  its 
primary  object,  but  most  interesting  to  Americans,  as  the 
first  account  of  our  coast  by  a  European. 

A  close  and  critical  analysis  of  this  letter  has  not 
yet  been  made.  The  late  Buckingham  Smith  doubted  its 
authenticity,  and  sought  to  prove,  from  the  letter  itself, 
as  also  by  contemporaneous  evidence  recently  brought  to 
light,  that  it  was  fictitious,  and  was  probably  composed 
by  some  Italian,  anxious  to  heap  laurels  on  the  brows  of 
his  countrymen.  Mr.  Smith's  "Inquiry"  of  1864,  is 
ingenious  but  not  exhaustive,  f  Shortly  after  its  appear- 

*  See  Miinster's  Ptolemy  of  1530,  and  other  maps  given  by  Kohl;  Maine 
Hist.  Soc.,  PL  XI1I-XV.     Also  notes,  Maps-after  Verrazano. 
f  See  notes,  B.  Smith 


VOYAGE  TO  AMI-:I;K'A.  29 

ance,  he  learned  that  a  map  by  Jerome  Verrazano 
was  preserved  in  Koine.  In  1866,  he  published  some 
remarks  on  M.  Thomassy's  account  of  it,  still  doubting 
whether  it  would  serve  to  prove  the  genuineness  of  the 
letter.  His  idea  of  the  original  map  seems  to  have  been 
that  it  was  on  a  very  small  scale,  for  he  translates  the 
modern  label  " carta  pecora"  (parchment  map)  as 
"small  map."  He  endeavored,  but  in  vain,  to  procure 
a  copy  of  it,  though,  had  he  been  successful,  his  opinions 
would  have  been  materially  altered. 

Dr.  J.  Gf.  Kohl,  the  most  able  comparative  geographer 
of  our  day,  has  also  examined  the  letter,*  and  finds  no 
reason  to  reject  it.  He  examines  the  narrative  closely, 
presenting  his  views  concerning  the  exploration,  which 
are  entitled  to  great  consideration,  although  he  had  also 
been  unable  to  procure  a  copy  of  the  chart  now  before  us 
to  compare  with  the  letter. 

If  the  letter  of  1524  had  been  fictitious,  and  had  been 
written  with  the  intention  of  supporting  a  prior  claim  by 
the  French  monarch,  it  would  have  been  heralded  forth 
and  great  efforts  would  have  been  made  to  circulate  it  as 
widely  as  the  despatches  of  Cortes,  which  appeared  about 
that  time.  Documents  giving  the  instructions  or  patent 
to  the  explorer  would  have  accompanied  this  manifesta 
tion,  and  a  map  would  have  been  given  or  spoken  of  as  a 
proof  of  the  actual  exploration.  It  may  be  urged  that 
the  disasters  which  overtook  France,  and  the  capture  of 
the  king,  prevented  this  publication,  but  these  being  past, 
no  attempt  was  made  to  wrest  from  the  Spaniards  the 
claim  acquired  by  the  voyage  of  Gomez.  The  main 
object  of  the  voyage,  besides  the  discovery  of  a  strait  or 
passage  to  the  Indies,  was,  no  doubt,  the  further  hope  of 
finding  another  Mexico  to  conquer  and  plunder. 

Disappointed  at  the  poor  results  of  the  voyage,  the 
French  gave  it  no  further  thought,  and  similar  indiffer- 

*  Op.  cit.,  p.  248-70  and  p.  290,  note;  also  in  notes. 


30  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

ence  attended  the  Spanish  voyage  of  Gomez.  These 
explorers  brought  home  no  gold,  and  reported  but  little 
that  was  inviting  to  Europeans.  The  notion  that  the  pre 
cious  metals  were  only  to  be  sought  for  under  the  tropics 
was  deeply  rooted  in  the  minds  of  men  of  that  day,  and 
the  failure  of  the  Cabots  and  Cortereals  to  discover  rich 
countries  in  the  north  caused  these  early  explorations  to 
be  neglected. 

The  learned  and  painstaking  Italian  editor,  in  his  pre 
fatory  remarks  to  the  letter,  *  expresses  most  distinctly 
his  belief  in  the  person  and  exploit  of  Verrazano,  saying 
that  he  had  received  from  many  persons  who  knew  him, 
the  views  entertained  by  the  explorer  respecting  further 
voyages  to  be  made  to  these  coasts  for  settlement  and 
discovery.  Ramusius  also  had  seen  or  heard  of  other 
letters,  which  he  says  were  then  lost,  apparently  stating 
it  as  a  fact  known  to  others  besides  himself.  Pierre  Crig- 
non,  writing  in  1539,  speaks  of  the  voyage  as  having  been 
made  fifteen  years  before,  without  having,  apparently, 
any  knowledge  of  the  letter  to  the  king,  first  printed  in 
1556. 

Hakluyt  is  another  witness  to  the  truth  of  the  voyage, 
though  of  a  much  later  date ;  but  his  statement  is  very 
explicit,  and  confirms  the  fact  that  Verrazano  had  pre 
pared  a  map,  which  he  had  seen.  In  another  memoir  of 
Hakluyt,  which  is  about  to  be  published  by  the  Maine 
Historical  Society,  this  map  is  again  spoken  of.f 

The  existence  of  Verrazano,  and  of  a  map  prepared  by 
himself  or  by  his  direction,  is  thus  put  beyond  doubt, 
and  it  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  refute  the  arguments 
of  the  late  Buckingham  Smith  in  greater  detail.  $ 

Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  who  was  a  diligent  collector  of 
charts  in  support  of  his  views  respecting  a  north- west 
passage,  makes,  however,  no  mention  of  Verrazano' s  map 

*  See  notes,  Ramuzius.  f  See  notes,  Hakluyt. 

\  See  notes,  B.  Smith. 


VERRAZANO'S  VOYAGE  TO  AMKHK'A.  31 

either  in  his  discourse  or  map  of  1566,  although  he  speaks 
of  the  voyage  as  an  accomplished  fact. 

This  map,  prepared,  most  probably,  by  Juan  himself, 
(for  his  brother  or  relative  Jerome  is  nowhere  named  by 
Hakluyt),  was,  no  doubt,  a  duplicate  of  the  one  which  he 
must  have  sent  to  the  French  monarch.  It  is  nowhere 
stated  that  Juan  was  in  England,  and  the  story  told  by 
Hakluyt  of  his  having  made  offers  of  discovering  new 
lands  to  Henry  the  Eighth,  has,  so  far,  not  a  document  to 
support  it,  though  such  an  one  may  yet  be  found. 

Who  this  Hieronimus  di  Verrazano,  designer  of  the 
map  now  before  us,  could  be,  is  uncertain.  He  is  not 
mentioned  anywhere,  unless  the  allusion  to  Giovanni's 
brother,  in  Caro's  letter,  may  have  reference  to  him. 
Researches  made  in  the  proper  quarter  may  explain  his 
connection  with  the  navigator.  Possibly,  he  had  accom 
panied  his  relative  on  the  exploring  voyage.  He  must 
have  been  an  experienced  cartographer,  for  his  work  is 
quite  equal  to  anything  of  the  kind  at  that  date,  and 
duplicates  of  it  may  yet  be  found. 

We  shall  not  attempt  to  criticise  this  newly  revealed 
Mapamundi  in  detail.  Any  study  of  its  general  construc 
tion,  and  of  its  merits,  would  carry  us  too  far  away  from 
the  main  point  of  interest  to  us,  namely,  its  representation 
of  our  coasts  as  explored  by  Juan,  in  1524,  being  the 
earliest  authentic  representation  of  them  hitherto  found. 

The  letter  in  question  is  given  in  the  Collections  of  the 
New  York  Historical  Society,  Vol.  I,  New  Series,  1841, 
with  a  translation  of  it,  prepared  by  the  late  J.  G.  Cogs 
well.  This  translation  was  made  from  a  manuscript  copy 
which  had  been  procured  by  Mr.  G.  W.  Greene,  in  1837, 
in  Florence.  Tiraboschi,  in  his  History  of  Italian  Litera 
ture,  Vol.  VII,  page  261,  had  mentioned  this  text,  and 
also  a  cosmographical  treatise  by  Verrazano,  as  preserved 
in  the  Strozzi  library  in  Florence.  The  Hon.  George 
Bancroft  drew  attention  to  this  notice  in  his  History  of 
the  United  States,  Vol.  I,  page  20. 


32  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

Mr.  Greene,  then  U.  S.  Consul  in  Tuscany,  found  the 
MS.  in  the  Magliabecchian  library,  which  shared  with 
the  Laurentian,  the  old  Strozzi  collection,  the  former 
library  receiving  all  the  historical  documents.  The  MS. 
is  contained  in  a  volume  of  miscellanies,  marked  class 
XIII,  Cod.  89,  Verraz.  The  letter  and  the  appendix,  Mi- 
Greene  says,  are  "  written  in  the  common  running  hand 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  tolerably  distinct,  but  badly 
pointed,"  and  the  rest  of  the  volume,  containing  miscel 
laneous  pieces,  chiefly  relating  to  contemporary  history, 
is  evidently  the  work  of  the  same  hand. 

The  text,  however,  although  the  same  in  substance, 
was  found  in  point  of  style  to  be  quite  different  from  that 
given  by  Ramusius,  who  appears  to  have  "worked  the 
whole  piece  over  anew,"  correcting  and  improving  the 
sailor's  rough  language.  The  manuscript  was  full  of 
Latinisms  and  barbarous  forms  intermixed  with  pure  Tus 
can.  The  appendix,  not  given  by  Ramusius,  "  does  not 
appear  to  be  free  from  errors,  some  of  which  may  be 
ascribed  to  the  copyist." 

It  is  not  known  whether  the  letter  was  first  written  in 
French  or  Italian.  The  subscription  is  a  Latinized  name, 
but  it  could  hardly  have  been  written  in  Latin.  Nor  is 
the  original  mentioned  anywhere  by  any  immediate 
cotemporary  but  the  one  to  whom  its  preservation  is  due. 
This  letter  is  followed,  in  the  Strozzi  volume,  by  the  let 
ter  of  a  young  Florentine,  Fernando  Carli,  addressed  from 
Lyons  to  his  father  in  Florence,  portions  of  which  we 
give  in  the  appendix. 

Carli  was  in  Lyons  when  the  letter  reached  the  King, 
and  it  seems  to  have  been  circulated  and  talked  about. 
Carli,  who  appears  to  have  had  a  taste  for  the  sea,  and 
who  had  before  given  accounts  of  the  doings  of  a  fleet 
fitted  out  to  pursue  Moorish  pirates,  saw  the  letter,  and 
writes  August  4th,  1524,  to  his  father,  about  Verrazano's 
voyage,  which  ho  knew  would  interest  the  Florentines  as 
compatriots  of  the  explorer.  He  says  that  he  has  added 


VERRAZANO'S  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  3.3 

a  copy  of  Verrazano's  letter  to  his  own,  and  Mr.  Greene 
thinks  that  these  were  circulated  and  copied  in  Flor 
ence  ;  the  Strozzi  manuscript  being  probably  one  of  these 
copies. 

Carli's  letter,  however,  was  not  published  until  1853, 
when  it  appeared  in  the  Archtvo  Storico  Italiano,  etc., 
Tome  IX,  Firenze.  Mr.  Buckingham  Smith  had  it  trans 
lated  for  his  paper,  read  before  the  New  York  Historical 
Society,  October  4,  1864,  in  the  printed  copy  of  which 
both  texts  of  it  are  given.  Mr.  Smith  treats  this  letter  as 
a  fiction,  simply  because  it  does  not  allude  to  any  other 
event  besides  this  voyage,  which  fact  we  consider  to  be 
the  best  proof  of  its  genuineness.  In  fact  Carli  says  that 
he  has  written  about  other  news  before. 

As  a  confirmation  of  Verrazano's  letter,  we  give  Mr. 
Smith's  version  of  Carli's  letter,  slightly  corrected,  in 
the  appendix.  It  will  be  noticed  that  a  distinct  allusion 
is  made  to  the  cosmographical  portion  of  Verrazano's 
letter.  The  mention  of  a  disastrous  beginning  of  the 
voyage,  is  owing  to  his  confounding  the  first  attempt 
with  the  second  one.  Near  the  close,  he  gives  a  clue  to 
the  fate  of  one  of  the  two  vessels,  which  from  Verra 
zano's  letter,  might  be  supposed  to  have  been  lost. 
Ramusius  found  them  in  Florence,  and  copied  the  Verra- 
zano  letter  only,  omitting  the  cosmographical  appendix 
and  Carli's  letter. 

Mr.  Greene,  in  his  article  on  Verrazano,  which  appeared 
in  the  October  number  of  the  North  American  Review, 
and  in  his  Historical  Studies,  which  we  have  freely  used 
in  this  memoir,  mentions  the  researches  made  by  himself 
elsewhere  in  Florence,  in  order  to  glean  some  facts  con 
cerning  Verrazano,  but  that  none  were  found.  An 
examination  of  the  family  library,  left  by  the  last  of  the 
race,  then  recently  deceased,  had  been  made  by  an  Italian 
bibliographer,  who  stated  that  he  had  found  nothing 
about  Giovanni,  except  "a  manuscript  bound  up  in  the 
family  copy  of  Ramusius,  and  a  few  loose  papers.  These 
5 


34  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

last  added  nothing  to  what  was  already  known.  The 
former  was  purchased  by  Capt.  Napier,  R.  N.,  and  is 
now  in  England."  Mr.  Greene  presumes  that  the  MS.  in 
in  the  bound  volume,  was  the  cosmographical  appendix, 
or  perhaps  a  copy  of  the  same  text  as  the  one  in  the 
Magliabecchian  library.  He  expresses  a  wish  that  Capt. 
Napier  would  publish  it,  if  it  should  prove  to  contain 
anything  not  hitherto  printed.  As  this  has  not  been 
done,  it  is  to  be  supposed  that  the  surmise  of  Mr.  Greene 
was  correct. 


Let  us  first  take  up  the  heading  of  the  letter,  which  we 
translate,  giving  also  the  original  texts  of  it,  both  from 
Ramusius,  and  as  published  by  Mr.  Greene,  in  a  note  to 
his  paper  above  quoted.*  The  text  as  given  in  the  New 
York  Historical  Society  Collections,  varies  slightly  from 
it.  Paraphrasing  it  afterwards,  according  to  our  sense 
of  its  meaning,  is,  perhaps,  the  readiest  way  of  criticis 
ing  it. 

"  The  Capt.  Giovanni  da  Verrazano,  Florentine  from  Nor 
mandy  to  the  most  serene  crown  of  France,  says: 

"  After  the  luck  met  with  on  the  Northern  coasts,  most  serene 
Lord,  I  did  not  write  to  your  most  serene  and  most  Christian 
Majesty,  about  that  which  had  been  accomplished  by  the  four 
ships,  which  it  had  ordered  on  the  ocean  to  discover  new  lands, 
thinking  that  it  would  have  been  kept  informed  of  all,  how  by 
the  impetuous  force  of  the  winds  we  were  constrained,  with  only 
the  ships  Normanda  and  Daliina  damaged,  to  run  back  to  Brit 
tany,  where  refitted,  your  sacred  Majesty  must  have  received 
the  report  of  what  we  did  with  this  fleet  of  war  along  the  coasts 
of  Spain,  afterwards  the  new  plan  to  pursue  the  first  navigation 
with  the  Dalfina  only,  from  which  being  returned,  I  will  give  an 
account  to  your  sacred  Majesty  of  what  we  have  found." 

Yerrazano  was  not  a  ready  penman  and  had  neglected 
making  any  direct  report  to  the  King  before  this  one,  an 

*  See  note,  Heading  of  Letter. 


VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.  35 

omission,  or  neglect  which  he  seeks  to  excuse  or  palliate 
in  the  above  awkward  manner.  We  now  offer  a  para 
phrase  of  this  heading,  as  explained  by  what  we  have 
gathered  together  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  paper. 

We  made  a  first  attempt  at  discovery  (no  date  given, 
but  probably  1522)  with  four  ships,  but  were  driven  back 
by  storms.    The  two  ships  Normande  and  Dauphine,  ran    v 
back  to  Brittany  (probably  to  Brest)  damaged,  where  we 
refitted.     (He  does   not  speak   of  the  fate  of  the   two 
others,  but  as  Carli  states  that  a  certain  Brunelleschi 
turned  back  at  the  first  untoward  obstacle  they  encoun 
tered,  it  is  probable  that  both  carne  back  safely.)     I  did    * 
not  write  about  the  ill-success  of  this  voyage,  knowing 
that  you  had  been  otherwise  informed  about  it.     After   ^ 
refitting  and  gathering  a  fleet  of  armed  vessels,  we  cruised 
in  Spanish  waters  and  made  prizes,  as  you  well  know. 
(He  refers  no  doubt  to  his  capture  in  May,  1523,  of  one  v 
of  the  treasure-ships  of  Cortes.)     I  then  determined  to 
sail  from  the  Desiertas  direct,  with  the  Dauphine  alone, 
(this  was  in  the   spring  of   1524),    and  have  now  just  > 
returned  from  this  voyage,  &c. 

Verrazano,  as  we  have  seen,  was  generally  in  the 
Spanish  waters  from  May  to  November  in  the  three  con 
secutive  years  1521,  1522  and  1523.  As  we  have  shown 
in  the  first  part  of  this  paper,  he  captured  a  vessel  with 
a  large  amount  of  gold  early  in  the  year  1521.  In  1522 
he  cruised  near  the  Canaries,  according  to  Viera,  and  was 
driven  thence  toward  the  Azores,  and  brought  home  no 
prizes.  Perhaps,  after  taking  some  months  to  refit,  he 
sailed  on  his  first  exploring  voyage  late  in  one  of  these 
years,  which  would  account  for  his  ill-success  and  return 
in  distress  early  in  1523.  We  know  that  in  May  or  June, 
1523,  he  captured  the  best  of  the  three  treasure-vessels 
sent  out  by  Cortes  in  that  year.  He  then  may  have  sent 
his  prize,  with  other  vessels  home,  and  sailed  January 
17th,  1524,  on  his  voyage  to  our  coasts,  the  account  of 
which  is  contained  in  the  letter.  It  is  hardly  possible,  as 


36  NOTES  ON  THE  VEKRAZAXO  MAT. 

suggested  by  Dr.  Kohl,  that  he  could  have  made  the  fh-st 
voyage  in  the  autumn  of  15235  and  made  another  just 
after  it,  in  1524. 


We  now  give  translated  extracts  of  the  most  important 
passages  of  the  letter,  omitting  the  long  accounts  of  the 
natives  and  selecting  those  which  bear  directly  on  the 
exploration  of  the  coast.  In  doing  this  we  have  found 
it  necessary  to  make  a  new  translation,  which  is  more 
literal  than  the  one  given  in  1841,  and  which  we  believe 
to  be  a  more  strictly  accurate  rendering  of  the  original. 

VERRAZANO'S  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  COAST. 
1.  From  the  Desiertas  rocks,  near  the  Island  of  Madeira 
of  his  serene  Majesty  the  King  of  Portugal,  with  the  said 
Dauphine,  on  the  17th  of  the  last  month  of  January,  with 
fifty  men,  furnished  with  victuals,  arms  and  other  warlike 
instruments,  and  naval  ammunition,  for  eight  months, 
we  started,  sailing  westward  with  an  easterly  wind,  blow 
ing  with  gentle  and  moderate  lightness. 

1.  1524  was  Bissextile. 

The  true  date  was  January  27th,  new  style. 

The  Desiertas  are  in  latitude  32  deg.  30  min.,  long.  10  dcg.  30 
min.,  thirteen  miles  E.  S.  E.  from  Madeira. 

Appears  to  have  sailed  for  over  three  weeks  with  the  north 
trade-winds. 

2.  In  twenty-five  [  27  ?  ]  days  we  ran  800  leagues,  and  on 
the  14th  of  February  we  encountered  a  tempest  as  severe 
as  any  one  that  sails  ever  experienced,  from  which,  with 
divine  aid  and  goodness,  and  to  the  praise  of  the  glorious 
name  (of  the  ship  ? ),  which,  fortunately,  was  able  to  stand 
the  violent  billows  of  the  sea,  we  were  delivered,   and 
resumed  our  navigation,  continuing  towards  the   west, 
inclining  somewhat  to  the  north,  and  in  twenty-five  [21  ?] 
days  more  we  ran  400  leagues,  when  there  appeared  a 
new  land  never  seen  by  ancient  or  modern. 


Exi'I.OltATION  OF  THE    AMERICAN   COAST.  37 

2.  He  changed  his  course  to  W.  N.  W.  in  about  long.  55  deg. 
W.,  and  must  liave  passed  well  north  of  the  Bermudas,*  which 
.appear  to  have  been  unknown  to  him,  although  they  were  known 
to  the  Spaniards  long  before,  for  the^  appear  on  the  map  in  Peter 
Martyr's  works  in  1511.     lie  well  knew  the  extent  of  the  Spanish 
and  French  explorations,  and  is  confirmed  in  his  statement  by 
Herrera,  who  says  that  no  Spanish  vessel  had  been  along  this  coast 
before  the  voyage  of  Gome/,  in  1525. 

3.  It  showed  itself   somewhat    low  at  first,   but   on 
approaching  it,  within  a  quarter  of  a  league,  we  knew  by 
the  great  fires  which  they  were  making  on  the  coast  that 
it  was  inhabited.     We  examined  it,  running  to  the  south, 
seeking  to  find  some  port  in  it  where  we  could  anchor  the 
ship  to  investigate  its  nature. 

3.  Drifted  northwardly  by  the  Gulf  Stream,  of  which  he  seems 
also  to  have  been  ignorant,  his  course  must  have  been  almost  N. 
W.  after  the  storm,  and  he  could  not  possibly,  as  he  claims,  have 
made  land  in  latitude  34  deg.,  but  must  have  struck  it  about  39 
deg.  30  min.,  off  Little  Eggharbor  beach. 

He  sighted  land  about  March  6th,  O.  S.  The  fires  were  made 
by  the  Indians,  who  then  flocked  to  the  shore  in  the  spring,  to 
feast  on  shell-fish  and  manufacture  shell  money.  His  most  south 
erly  point  after  this  vas  in  39  deg.  5  min.,  for  if  he  had  made 
his  landfall  in  a  lower  latitude  he  would  have  seen  and  placed  on 
his  chart  the  great  gulfs,  known  as  Delaware  and  Chesapeake 
bays.  Of  these  there  is  no  trace  on  the  map. 

His  most  southerly  point  must  have  been,  therefore,  in  39  deg. 
05  min.,  a  few  miles  north  of  Cape  May.  He  says  nothing  about 
the  great  inland  or  western  sea  depicted  on  his  map,  separated 
by  a  narrow  isthmus  from  the  Atlantic,  and  near  which  is  the 
inscription  given  elsewhere. 

He  may  have  learned  from  the  Indians  that  there  was  a  great 
sea  to  the  west  (the  Delaware),  or  his  sailors  may  have  sighted 
what  they  took  to  be  such  from  the  mastheads. 

4.  For  the  space  of  fifty  leagues  we  could  not  find  a 
suitable  port  of  any  kind  where  we  could  safely  stay,  and 

*  See  note,  Examination  of  tlie  Voyage. 


38  NOTES  ON  THE  VEREAZANO  MAP. 

seeing  that  the  land  continued  ascending  (scendeva) 
towards  the  south,  we  determined  to  turn  and  examine  it 
towards  the  north,  where  we  found  the  same  [difficulty] 
in  landing  on  the  coast.  Ordering  a  boat  to  land,  we  saw 
a  number  of  people,  who  came  to  the  shore  of  the  sea, 
and  who  fled  as  we  approached,  sometimes  stopping  and 
turning  around,  gazing  with  much  admiration  ;  but  reas 
suring  them  with  various  signs,  some  of  them  came  near, 
showing  great  pleasure  on  looking  at  the  wonders  of  our 
dress  and  figure  and  white  complexions,  making  divers 
signals  (to  show)  where  the  boat  could  most  easily  land, 
and  offering  us  their  food.  We  could  not  learn  many 
details  concerning  their  customs  on  account  of  the  short 
stay  which  we  made  on  shore,  and  the  distance  (of  the 
ship)  from  the  shore. 

We  found,  not  far  from  these,  other  people  whose  mode 
of  life  we  thought  to  be  the  same,  and  the  shore  was 
covered  with  fine  sand  fifteen  feet  high,  extending  in  the 
shape  of  small  hills  some  fifty  paces  broad. 

4.  The  description  of  the  coast  applies  very  exactly  to  the 
shores  of  New  Jersey.     Hudson,  in  1609,  describes  it  in   almost 
the  same  terms,  and  saw  so  many  fires,  even  in  September,  that 
he  called  one  of  the  inlets  JBarnende  gat,  now  Barnegat. 

His  vivid  and  flattering  description  of  the  country  and  of  its 
forests  is  exaggerated,  in  order  to  heighten  the  value  of  his  dis 
covery.  But  few  trees  in  leaf  could  have  been  observed  as  early 
as  March.  The  earliest  flowering  tree  is  the  dogwood  or  Cornus 
florida,  which  opens  about  May  10th. 

5.  Then  ascending  we  found  some  arms  of  the  sea  which 
entered  through  some  inlets  washing  the  shore  on  one  and 
the  other  side,  as  the  coasts  run.     (Pol  ascendendo  si 
trovana  alcuni  bracci  di  mare  die  entrano  per  alcune 
foci  rigando  il  lita  doll  una  all  allra  parte  come  corre  il 
lito  de  quello.     [This  should,  perhaps,  read  "channelling 
the  beach  from  side  to  side  as  the  coast  runs. "  ]     When 
near  by,  the  land  shows  itself  broad,  and  so  high  that  it 
rises  above  the  sandy  coast,  with  fine  landscapes  and  a 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  COAST.  39 

country  full  of  very  great  forests,  partly  open  and  partly 
dense,  dressed  in  various  colored  trees  of  as  great  a  size 
and  agreeable  appearance  as  it  is  possible  to  express. 

5.  This  is  the  only  description  in  the  letter  that  we  believe  can 
be  applied  to  the  harbor  of  New  York.     lie  probably  anchored 
outside  of  Sandy  Hook  or  in  the  outer  harbor,  and  saw  Shrews 
bury  river,  the   Kills,  and  the   Narrows,  observed  the  bar  and 
rapid  tides,  thus  satisfying  himself,  without  penetrating  to  the 
inner  bay,  that  there  was  no  strait  here  leading  to  the  South  sea. 
The  expression  "  washing  the  shores  on  both  sides  as  the  coasts 
run"  would  apply  to  several  parts  of  these  coasts,  but  taken  in 
connection  with  the  "several  arms  of  the  sea"  it  applies  especially 
to  the  two   long  sandy  spits  known  as  Sandy  Hook  and  Coney 
Island,  which  form  the  entrance  of  New  York  harbor. 

His  mention  of  land  rising  inland  makes  it  almost  certain  that 
he  was  in  New  York  harbor.  No  such  feature  is  seen  south  of  it. 
He  would  have  in  view  from  his  anchorage,  Long  Island,  rising  to 
about  100  feet,  Staten  Island  to  307,  and  the  Navesink  Highlands 
232  feet,  these  last  being  close  to  the  shore. 

6.  It  [tlie  land]  lias  many  lakes  and  ponds  of  living 
water,  with  numerous  kinds  of  birds  adapted  to  all  the 
pleasures   of  the   chase.     This  land  is  in   84°,    the  air 
wholesome,    pure,    and   tempered  as  to   cold  and  heat. 
The  winds  do  not  blow  fiercely  in  these  regions,  and  those 
which  prevail  most  are  north-west  and  west. 

During  the  summer  season  in  which  we  were  there,  the 
sky  is  clear,  with  little  rain ;  and  when  sometimes  the 
southern  winds  bring  in  suddenly  some  fog  or  mists,  they 
do  not  last,  and  are  dispersed,  it  becoming  pure  and  clear. 
The  sea  is  gentle  and  not  boisterous,  its  waves  being 
gentle.  Although  all  the  coast  is  low  and  devoid  of  ports, 
it  is  not  dangerous  to  navigators,  being  all  clear  and  with 
out  any  rock.  The  depth,  as  near  as  four  or  five  paces 
from  the  shore,  at  high  or  low  water,  is  twenty  feet, 
increasing  with  such  uniform  proportion  to  the  depths  of 
the  sea,  with  such  good  holding  ground,  that  any  ship, 
however  tossed  by  a  tempest  in  those  parts,  cannot  perish, 


40  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

provided  the  cable  does  not  break,  and  this  we  have 
proved  by  experience.  This  we  positively  tested,  for  in 
the  beginning  of  March,  the  winds  blowing  with  great 
force,  as  in  other  regions,  we  were  riding  with  the  ship  on 
the  open  sea,  and  found  that  the  anchor  must  break  before 
it  would  drag  or  make  any  movement. 

6.  This   paragraph   in   the   letter,  including  a  part  not  here 
given,  forms  arm^me'of  all  that  he  had  observed  up  to  this  time, 
with  general  remarks  that  apply  to  the  whole  of  our  coast. 

Notices  the  prevalent  north-west  winds,  a  peculiar  feature 
in  our  climate.  Also  the  absence  of  fogs,  the  absence  of  all  out 
lying  rocks,  and  the  good  anchorage  along  the  coast,  with  the 
shelving  bottom.  He  exaggerates,  however,  the  boldness  of  the 
coast,  as  forty  or  fifty  paces  would  be  the  nearest  distance  for 
such  a  depth  as  he  notes.  This  may  be  due  to  an  error  of  the 
copyist.  He  could  hardly  have  invented  the  combination  of  all 
these  features,  so  different  from  any  part  of  the  European  shores. 

Comparing  the  narrative  with  the  chart,  it  will  be  seen  that 
there  is  an  indentation  of  the  coast  which  is,  no  doubt,  meant  to 
indicate  New  York  harbor,  for  the  trend  of  the  coast  here 
changes,  as  represented  on  the  map  and  described  in  the  letter. 

7.  We  started  from  this  place,  continuing  to  run  along 
the  coast,  which  we  found  turning  to  the  west  [east], 
observing  along  the  whole  of  it  great  fires  from  the  num 
ber  of  its  inhabitants.     Approaching  the   shore  to  get 
water,  there  being  no  port,  we  ordered  the  boat  on  shore 
with  twenty-five  men  [  a  large  boat  ?  ].     On  account  of  the 
very  heavy  surf  beating  on  the  shore,  which  was  quite 
exposed,  it  was  not  possible,  without  peril  of  losing  the 
boat,  for  any  one  to  put  foot  on  shore.     We  saw  many 
people  coming  to  the  shore  making  various  friendly  signs, 
pointing  out  where  we  might  land. 

7.  Leaving  New  York  harbor,  he  finds  the  coast  running  west 
(evidently  a  mistake  for  east),  and  runs  down  the  south  shore  of 
Long  Island.  There  are  but  three  or  four  practicable  inlets  along 
this  coast,  and  they  are  not  readily  discovered  when  a  few  miles 
at  sea. 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  COAST.  41 

Long  Island,  and  particularly  Rockaway  bay,  was  a  great 
resort  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  wampum  or  seawan, 
the  money  currency  of  the  natives.  Numerous  shell  beds 
line  the  shores  of  the  bay  where  the  manufacture  was  carried 
on.  The  incident  related  here  probably  happened  on  Rock- 
away  beach,  where  the  land  meets  the  narrow  and  barren  outer 
sand-bar,  which  for  over  seventy  miles  separates  the  ocean  from 
the  bay  or  lagoons  behind  it.  It  must  have  happened  at  some 
point  where  there  is  no  outer  beach. 

8.  Leaving  here,  and  always  following  the  shore,  which 
turned  towards  the  north  (meaning  somewhat  to  the  north), 
we  came,  in  the  space  of  fifty  leagues,  to  another  land 
which  seemed  very  beautiful,  and  full  of  the  largest  for 
ests.  Landing  on  it,  twenty  men  went  about  two  leagues 
into  the  land,  and  found  that  the  people,  from  fear,  had 
fled  into  the  woods.  We  saw  many  of  their  boats,  made 
from  a  single  log  twenty  feet  long  and  four  feet  wide, 
which  are  manufactured  without  [the  help  of]  iron  or 
stone,  or  any  kind  of  metal,  for  in  the  space  of  the  whole 
200  leagues  which  we  had  coasted  of  this  land,  no  stone 
of  any  kind  was  seen  by  us.  By  the  aid  of  the  fourth 
element  they  take  out  enough  wood  to  serve  for  the  hollow 
of  the  boat,  and  do  the  same  for  the  bow  and  stern,  so 
that  in  navigating  it  may  cut  the  water. 

The  land,  as  to  site,  richness  and  beauty  is  like  the 
other,  full  of  forests  of  various  kinds  of  woods,  but  not 
so  odoriferous,  from  being  more  northerly  and  colder. 

8.  The  south  coast  of  Long  Island  has  a  general  trend  to  the 
E.  N.  E.,  and  there  is  but  one  conspicuous  inlet  (Fire  Island  inlet) 
along  its  whole  extent  of  115  geographical  miles.  The  first  third 
of  the  island  lies  nearly  east  and  west,  the  rest  turning  to  about 
E.  N.  E.  by  N.  Thus  his  course,  first  east  and  then  north,  may 
be  understood  as  applying  to  Long  Island.  By  the  expression 
"  stretched  to  the  north,"  he  means  that  the  land  was  to  the  north 
of  him.  He  appears  to  have  landed  again  near  Quogue  or  Bridge- 
hampton.  His  remark  that  this  is  another  land,  distinguishes 
Long  Island  from  New  Jersey  distinctly. 


42  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

9.  After  remaining  in  this  land  three  days,  riding  on 
the  coast,  from  the  paucity  of  harbors,  we  resolved  to 
depart,  running  always  along  the  coast,  between  north 
and  east,  and  only  sailing  [by  day]  and  dropping  anchor 
at  night. 

9.  The  navigator  certainly  repeats  himself  here,  that  is,  writing 
carelessly  or  hurriedly,  and  having  made  digressions,  he  means 
that  after  leaving   either  New  York  harbor  or  the  Rockaway 
shore  he  sailed  rather  more  to  the  N.  E. 

10.  At  the  end  of  a  hundred  leagues,  we  found  a  very 
pleasant  site  placed  among  some  small  rising  hills,  in  the 
midst  of  which  there  ran  towards  the  sea  a  very  large 
river,  which  was  deep  at  its  mouth,  and  from  the  sea  to 
the  hills  there,  on  the  flood  tide,  which  we  found  eight 
feet  [rise],  there  might  have  passed  ships  of  any  burthen. 
Being,  however,  anchored  on  the  coast  in  a  good  berth, 
we  did  not  wish  to  venture  in  without  a  knowlege  of  the 
entrance.     We  proceeded  with  a  boat  to  enter  the  river 
and  land,  which  we  found  very  populous,  and  the  people 
much  like  the  others,  dressed  with  birds'  feathers  of  divers 
colors.     They  came  towards  us  joyfully,  emitting  very 
great  shouts  of  admiration,  showing  us  where,  with  the 
boat,  it  was  safest  to  land.     We  ascended  the  said  river 
into  the  land  about  half  a  league,  where  we  saw  a  fine 
lake  about  three  leagues  in  circuit,  through  which  there 
were  passing  from  shore  to  shore  about  thirty  of  their 
boats,  with  numbers  of  people  who  were  crossing  over  to 
see  us.     In  a  moment,  as  often  happens  in  navigating,  a 
violent  contrary  wind  from  the  sea  blowing  up,  we  were 
forced  to  return  to  the  ship,  leaving  the  said  land  with 
much  regret,  considering  that  from  its  convenience  and 
pleasant  aspect  it  could  not  but  have   some  valuable 
quality,  as  all  the  hills  there  showed  minerals. 

10.  Passing  around  Montauk  point,  the  easterly  extremity  of 
Long  Island,  he  would  find  a  great  contrast  awaiting  him,  for 
whereas  he  had  hitherto  sailed  along  a  sandy  coast  without  rocks, 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  COAST.  43 

and,  excepting  New  York,  with  only  low  hills  in  the  distance,  he 
now  would  find  in  front  of  him  the  rocky  coast  of  Connecticut, 
and  the  outlying  rocky  islets  known  as  Gull  or  Fisher's  islands, 
while  in  the  distance,  on  the  right,  lie  saw  Block  island,  the  only 
really  detached  island  along  our  coast,  from  the  Bahamas,  near 
Florida,  in  latitude  26  deg.  30  min.,  to  this  island,  in  hit.  41.  deg. 
10  min.  Some  have  considered  that  either  Nantucket  or  Martha's 
Vineyard  were  here  described,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
these  islands  were  not  noticed  by  him  as  insular. 

The  "  pleasant  situation  among  steep  hills,  etc.,"  is  probably 
the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  which  he  reached,  passing  through  the 
race  between  Fisher's  and  Gull  islands.  The  tidal  current 
through  the  race  was  observed  by  him  and  is  alluded  to  here. 
The  vessel  was  anchored  in  the  roadstead  behind  Fisher's 
island,  fearing  to  enter,  and  a  strong  southerly  gale  might  well 
have  induced  his  boat  to  return  to  the  ship. 

The  distinct  indication  on  the  map  of  a  large  inlet,  resembling 
Long  Island  sound,  was  put  down  while  here.  He  may  have 
explored  it  sufficiently  to  be  satisfied  that  it  was  not  a  strait  such 
as  he  was  searching  to  discover. 

11.  Weighing  anchor,  we  sailed  eastward,  as  the  la.nd 
turned  that  way,  running  eighty  leagues.  [  Ramusius 
says  fifty.]  We  saw,  always  in  sight  of  it*  (sempre  a  vista 
di  quella  discoprimmo\  an  island  of  triangular  form, 
distant  ten  leagues  from  the  continent,  in  size  like  to  the 
island  of  Rhodes,  full  of  hills,  covered  with  trees  and 
thickly  inhabited,  [judging]  from  the  series  of  fires 
which  we  saw  them  making  all  along  the  shore.  We 
baptized  it  with  the  name  of  your  illustrious  mother 
[Louisa]. 

11.  The  fifty  or  eighty  leagues  is  an  overestimate,  and  the 
island  he  saw,  and  which  was  certainly  Block  island,  must  have 
been  noticed  before.  It  has  no  harbor,  and  the  shores  are  gravel 
and  sand  cliffs,  the  interior  being  hilly,  and  at  that  time  covered 
with  trees,  which  may  have  made  it  appear  higher. 

*  The  punctuation  may  alter  the  sense  here  so  as  to  read,  "  running  eighty 
leagues,  always  in  sight  of  it,"  i.e.,  the  laud;  the  island  being  discovered  after 
wards. 


44  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

12.  Not  coming  to  anchor  there  on  account  of  the  con 
trary  weather,  we  came  to  another  land,  distant  fifteen 
leagues  from  the  island.  We  found  a  very  fine  port,  into 
the  mouth  of  which  we  entered.  We  saw  about  twenty 
boats  with  people,  who  came  with  various  cries  and 
wonder  around  the  ship,  not  approaching  nearer  than 
fifty  paces,  stopping  to  consider  our  build,  our  looks, 
and  dress.  Then  they  altogether  sent  up  a  loud  shout, 
signifying  pleasure.  Reassuring  them  somewhat,  and 
imitating  their  gestures,  they  came  so  near  that  we  threw 
to  them  some  bells  and  mirrors  and  many  trinkets,  which 
they  took  laughing,  and  carefully  looking  around  the 
ship.  *  *  *  We  struck  up  a  great  friendship  with  them, 
and  the  day  after,  we  entered  the  port  with  the  ship,  we 
having  been  anchored  a  league  out  at  sea  on  account  of  a 
contrary  wind.  *  *  *  They  came  with  a  number  of  their 
boats  to  the  ship,  their  faces  painted  and  daubed  with 
various  colors,  showing  real  signs  of  pleasure,  bringing 
us  some  of  their  provisions,  making  signs  where  we  should 
anchor  in  the  port  for  the  safety  of  the  ship,  keeping  with 
us  until  we  had  dropped  anchor,  in  which  we  stayed 
fifteen  days,  refreshing  ourselves  in  many  ways.  *  *  * 
They  would  rest  on  an  island  a  quarter  of  a  league  from 
us.  *  *  *  We,  several  times,  went  inland  five  or  six 
leagues,  finding  it  as  pleasant  as  is  possible  to  be 
described  ;  all  kinds  of  cultivation  going  on,  corn,  wine, 
and  oil.  There  are  spaces  of  twenty- five  or  thirty  leagues 
of  bare,  open  country,  and  devoid  of  any  impediment  of 
trees,  of  such  fertility  that  any  kind  of  seed  in  it  would 
yield  its  utmost. 

12.  He  entered  Narragansett  bay  only  fourteen  miles  from 
Block  island,  and  at  first  he  seems  to  have  anchored  at  its  mouth, 
but  afterwards  between  Goat  island  and  the  present  town  of 
Newport.  Throughout  the  letter  we  have  refrained  from  criti 
cising  the  notices  of  the  natives,  confining  our  remarks  to  geog 
raphical  points  only,  but  it  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  COAST.  45 

inhabitants  of  these  shores  with  such  accidental  precision,  were 
the  letter  a  mere  fiction. 

Dr.  Miller,  in  the  New  York  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  I,  applied  this 
description  of  Narragansett  bay  to  the  harbor  of  New  York. 
Dr.  Cogswell,  in  the  New  Series,  Vol.  I,  of  the  same,  corrected 
him,  but  we  think  erred  in  making  the  description  of  the  Thames 
adapt  itself  to  New  York. 

Our  opinion,  however,  of  the  letter,  in  a  geographical  point  of 
view,  is  that  the  navigator  penned  it  in  haste,  and  was  more 
anxious  to  please  the  king,  by  a  favorable  report  of  the  coasts 
explored,  than  to  describe  them  correctly.  The  letter  must  not 
be  strictly  accepted  as  detailing  all  the  courses  sailed,  and  as 
describing  all  the  harbors  visited. 

As  he  was  here  in  April,  he  could  not  have  found  ripe  fruit  on 
the  trees,  but  the  Indians,  as  we  know,  laid  in  stores  of  dried 
fruit  and  nuts  for  the  winter.  The  boats  made  from  sino-le  loirs, 

O  c5     " 

called  dug-outs,  are  still  made  and  used  by  the  white  people.  The 
Indians  used  fire  to  hollow  out  their  boats,  applying  the  fire  to  a 
tree  left  standing,  from  which  the  bark  had  been  removed  a  year 
beforehand.  The  fire  could  be  easier  managed  on  the  upright 
log,  so  as  to  control  the  process,  and  make  a  neat  finish.  The 
broad-bladed  paddle  used  by  the  two  arms,  without  a  rest, 
describes  the  Indian  mode  of  rowing  exactly. 

The  round  Indian  lodges,  thatched  with  marsh  flags,  were  not 
peculiar  to  these  tribes.  The  pulse  was  the  maize  or  Indian  corn, 
of  which  they  had  several  varieties,  and  as  stated,  the  planting 
and  the  harvesting  were  preceded  by  various  ceremonial  observ 
ances. 

The  most  remarkable  omission  in  the  description  of  the  natives 
is  that  of  the  habit  of  smoking  tobacco,  which  prevailed  among 
them  as  far  north  as  Maine. 

13.  This  land  is  situated  on  the  parallel  of  Rome,  in 
41f  °,  but  somewhat  colder  by  accident  and  not  by  nature, 
as  I  will  relate  to  your  Majesty  elsewhere.  Describing 
now  the  site  of  the  said  place  [posto,  query  porto^  it 
looks  towards  the  south,  half  a  league  wide,  then  enter 
ing,  it  extends  to  the  east  and  north  twelve  leagues,  where, 
widening,  it  forms  a  most  ample  basin,  with  a  circuit  of 


46  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

twenty  leagues,  in  which  are  live  islets  of  much  fertility, 
and  pleasant,  full  of  high  and  spreading  trees,  among 
which  islands  any  number  of  fleets  might  rernaiu  without 
fear  of  storms  or  of  any  other  chance  obstacles.  Turning 
towards  the  south,  at  the  entrance  of  the  port,  there  are, 
on  both  sides,  gentle  hills,  with  many  channels  that  pour 
clear  water  from  the  hills  into  the  sea.  In  the  midst  of 
the  mouth  [of  the  harbor],  there  is  a  reef  (scolio)  of  free 
stone,  of  a  kind  fitted  to  build  any  kind  of  machine  or 
fort  for  its  production. 

13.  The  latitude  given  here  is  nearly  correct,  the  entrance  of 
this  bay  being  in  latitude  41  deg.   27  niiu.,  which  coupled  with 
the  notice  that  the  harbor  looks  south,  leaves  hardly  a  doubt  as 
to  the  identification  of  this  position. 

He  was  able,  here,  to  observe  the  latitude  at  leisure,  and  repeat 
edly.  With  the  instruments  then  used,  the  altitudes  taken  at  sea 
were  not  trustworthy,  being  liable  to  an  error  of  several  degrees; 
but  with  a  large  wooden  quadrant  of  some  four  feet  radius,  fitted 
with  a  plumb  line,  and  on  which  the  degrees  were  an  inch  long, 
it  would  be  possible  to  read  altitudes  to  within  ten  minutes.  The 
rock  is  evidently  meant  for  Goat  island,  which  is  admirably 
adapted  to  defend  Newport  harbor.  This,  it  will  be  observed, 
was  the  only  sheltered  port  into  which  he  took  his  ship  during 
the  cruise.  He  was  here  from  May  first  to  sixteenth,  new  style. 

14.  Having  refreshed  ourselves  at  our  leisure,  we  left 
the   said  port  on  the  sixth  day  of  May,  following  the 
shore,  never  losing   sight  of  the  land.     We  sailed  150 
leagues,  finding  it  of  the  same  nature,  and  a  little  higher, 
with  some  mountains,  which  all  showed  minerals.     We 
did  not  stop  there  for  fear  that  the  favorable  weather 
might  not  last  (per  la  prosperita  del  tempo  ne  serviva). 
Looking  at  the  coast,  we  thought  it  was  like  the  last. 

1 4.  Leaving  Newport,  his  course  was  first  east-south-east,  and 
then  northerly.  The  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  include  the 
fifty  mentioned  just  after;  in  fact,  the  last  paragraph  is  a  general 
sketch  of  the  land  north  of  Cape  Cod,  which  he  was  about  to 
explore. 


OF  THE  AMERICAN   COAST.  47 

15.  The  shore  ran  to  the  east ;  in  the  space  of  fifty 
leagues,  holding  more  to  the  north,  we  found  a  highland 
full  of  dense  woods,  the  trees  in  which  were  pines, 
cypresses,  and  such  like,  which  grow  in  cold  regions. 
The  people  [were]  quite  different  from  the  others,  and  in 
proportion  as  those  before  were  gentle  in  behaviour,  these 
were  in  roughness  and  appearance  the  more  barbarous  ; 
so  that  no  matter  how  many  signals  we  made  to  them,  we 
could  hold  no  conversation  with  them.  They  were  dressed 
in  the  skins  of  bears,  wolves,  marine  lynx  (cermeri  marini, 
seals?),  and  other  animals. 

15.  He  passed  around  south  of  Martha's  Vineyard  and  Nan- 
tucket,  considering  them  as  the  main  land,  and  must  have  been 
made  cautious  of  danger  by  the  tide  rips  and  soundings  on  Nan- 
tucket  shoals.     These  lie  indicates  on  the  map  as  a  long  sand  spit, 
which  seems  to  be  named  Cap  Arenosus  on  the  map;  and  steering 
well  clear  of  Cape  Cod,  he  probably  made  Cape  Ann  and  the 
rocky  coast  of  Maine.     The  change  of  scenery  and  of  the  people 
are  noted. 

16.  Twenty-five  men  went  inland,  against  their  [  the 
natives]  will,  two  or  three  leagues,  and  when  they  returned 
to  the  shore  they  shot  at  us  with  their  bows,  shouting 
loudly,  and  escaping  into  the  woods.    We  found  nothing 
of  any  value  in  the  land,  except  immense  forests,  with 
some  hills.     They  may  have   some  metals,  as   we   saw 
many  of  them  with  copper  (rame)  rings  in  their  ears. 

16.  It  is  uncertain  where  this  landing  was  made,  but  it  was 
probably  between  Nahant  and  Cape  Ann. 

17.  We  departed,  running  along  the  coast  between  east 
and  north,  which  we  found  more  pleasant,  open  and  bare 
of  woods,  with  high  mountains  back  in  the  land,  sloping 
towards  the  shore  of  the  sea.     In  [the  space  of]  fifty 
leagues,  we  discovered  thirty-two  islands,  all  near  to  the 
continent,  small,  and  of  good  appearance,  following  the 
outline  of  the  land  (alte  tenendo  la  verzura  delict  lerra), 
from  which  were  formed  the  most  beautiful  ports  and 


48  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

canals,  as  they  do  near  Illyria  and  Dalmatia,  in  the 
Adriatic  sea.  We  had  no  intercourse  with  the  people, 
bnt  supposed  them  to  be,  in  their  customs  and  nature, 
like  to  those  we  had  left. 

17.  The  distant  mountains   may  well   have  been   the  White 
Mountains  in  New  Hampshire,  which,  on  clear  days,  are  visible 
from  the  sea,  and  would  at  this  season  still  be  covered  with  snow. 
His  remark  that  there  are  no  mountains  near  the  coast  is  a  cor 
rect  one. 

The  rocky  islets  of  the  coast  of  Maine,  which  he  so  well  com 
pares  to  those  on  the  Illyrian  coast,  prove  that  he  had  really  been 
here,  for  no  map  of  the  time  could  have  suggested  this  feature. 

18.  Sailing  between  east  and  north  for  the  space  of 
150  leagues,  and  having  already  consumed  all  our  naval 
stores  and  victuals ;  having  discovered  502  leagues,  that 
is  700  more  of  new  land,  supplying  ourselves  with  water 
and  wood,  we  determined  to  return  to  France. 

18.  In  the  appendix,  he  gives  his  departure  from  the  coast  as 
in  latitude  50  deg.,  which  would  imply  that  he  visited  the  east 
coast  of  Newfoundland.  This  we  doubt,  as  he  merely  wished  to 
connect  his  own  coastwise  explorations  with  the  well-known 
Terra  de  Brctones  and  Terra  Nova,  and  would  hardly  extend 
his  voyage  to  points  frequented  by  the  Portuguese  and  Spaniards. 

His  map  shows  no  trace  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  he  does 
not  describe  any  point,  towards  the  close  of  his  coasting,  that 
can  be  identified.  It  is  probable  that  he  turned  away  in  about 
latitude  44  deg.,  being  confident,  from  the  easterly  trend  of  the 
coast,  that  he  had  traced  the  continental  barrier  to  a  point  already 
visited.  The  map  shows  a  large  river  estuary,  which  is,  perhaps, 
the  Penobscot,  whence  he  started  homewards.  He  may  have 
sighted  Cape  Sable,  but  probably  missed  it  by  having  taken  an 
E.  S.  E.  course  from  the  point  of  his  departure.  His  estimate  of 
500  leagues  of  new  discovery  is  nearly  correct,  if  we  assume  that 
he  struck  the  coast  in  latitude  39  deg.  30  min.,  and  left  it  in 
latitude  44  deg. 

His  own  estimate  of  the  length  of  a  degree  is  62^  Italian  miles, 
and  he  coasted,  from  our  estimate  below,  some  540  geographical 
miles.  His  expression  "  500,  that  is  700  leagues,"  is  explained  in 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  COAST.  49 

the  appendix,  where  he  says  that  lie  made  300  leagues  in  latitude 
(about  five  degrees),  and  400  in  longitude. 

He  could,  as  we  believe,  not  have  coasted  an  extent  of  more 
than  five  degrees  of  latitude,  and  about  six  degrees  of  longitude. 
Ths  dates  appear  to  be  as  follows,  old  style: 

January  17th,  leaves  the  Desiertas. 

March  Oth,  reaches  land. 

March  15th,  probably  reaches  New  York  harbor. 

April  21st  to  May  6th,  in  Newport  harbor. 

May  6th  to  20th,  probably  coasting. 

July  8th,  arrives  at  Dieppe;  twenty-eight  days  voyage. 

Upon  an  attentive  examination  of  the  courses  and  distances 
sailed,  some  of  which  are  given  twice,  we  come  to  about  the  same 
result  as  his  own. 

1.  From  landfall,  coasts  south 50  leagues. 

2.  Coasts  north  to  New  York,  say. 100  " 

3.  Thence  east  and  north  to  Thames  R 100  " 

4.  To  Newport  (overestimate  ?) 80  " 

5.  Newport  to  Cape  Ann 150  " 

6.  North-east. .  150  " 


580 


§.  The  navigator  must  have  meant  to  use  the  term  miles  of  62^ 
to  a  degree,  for  he  would  otherwise  quadruple  the  true  distances. 
In  the  case  of  the  third  course  and  of  part  of  the  fifth,  he  cer 
tainly  repeats  himself.     His  estimates  must  be  mere  guesses  in 
round  numbers. 

A  measurement  from  a  U.  S.  Coast  Survey  chart  of  the  coast, 
dated  1864,  gives  the  following  result: 

Latitude  39  deg.  05  min.  to  New  York 90  miles. 

New  York  to  Montauk  point 110       " 

Thence  to  Thames  and  Newport 60       " 

Newport  to  Cape  Ann 170       " 

Cape  Ann  to  Penobscot  river 110       " 

540  miles. 


50  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

Old  navigators  were  very  prone  to  exaggerate  the  distances 
sailed.  See  instances  quoted  by  Humboldt,  Examen  Critique, 
V.  101,  who  says  that  the  direction  is  more  important  than  the 
distance. 

LETTER  AND  MAP  COMPARED. 

With  the  aid  of  the  ma,p  newly  discovered,  we  can 
follow  Verrazano's  track  along  our  shores  with  some 
confidence. 

First,  the  Jersey  coast  is  shown  trending  too  much  to 
the  N.  E.,  but  the  variation  of  the  compass  to  the  west 
ward  would  cause  it  to  appear  so  to  him.  Then  the  har 
bor  of  New  York  shown  as  a  river  only,  because  he 
probably  did  not  penetrate  far  into  it.  Next  the  Long 
Island  coast,  correctly  shown,  inclining  more  to  the  east 
ward,  with  the  interesting  and  correctly -indicated  feature 
of  a  sound  behind  it.  He  passes  Fisher' s  island,  which 
he  seems  to  have  supposed  to  be  connected  with  Point 
Judith,  of  the  mainland,  just  east  of  it,  which  appear  on 
his  map  as  a  promontory,  beyond  which  he  places  Narra- 
gansett  bay,  with  his  /.  Luisa,  or  Block  island,  off  its 
mouth. 

The  E  .S.  E.  trend  of  the  coast  from  that  point  on  his 
map  is  due,  as  observed  before,  to  his  having  taken 
Martha's  Vineyard  and  Nantucket  as  part  of  the  mainland. 
The  long  sand-bar  to  the  east  of  this  is  a  rough  draught  of 
Nantucket  shoals,  or  Cape  Cod,  as  they  presented  them 
selves  to  him. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  parallels  of  latitude  on  the 
map  are  very  different  from  the  observations  recorded  in 
the  letter.  These  parallels  are  all  full  five  degrees  too 
much  to  the  south  of  their  proper  position.  Hieronimus, 
who  made  the  map,  must  have  committed  this  mistake, 
and  we  can  offer  no  explanation  to  account  for  the  dis 
crepancy.  On  the  charts  of  those  times,  we  do  not  expect 
that  the  longitude  can  be  more  than  guessed  at,  but  the 
latitude  is  generally  within  much  narrower  limits  of  error. 


His  OCCUPATIONS  AFTER  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.        51 

Columbus,  also,  was  very  wrong  in  his  data  for  the 
latitude  of  the  island  oLCuba,  and  does  not  seem  to  have 
ever  corrected  himself.  Perhaps  the  latitudes  on  this 
map  were  made  expressly  incorrect  in  order  to  mislead 
the  uninitiated,  or  in  order  to  avoid  appearing  to  encroach 
on  the  Spanish  discoveries,  which,  under  Matienzo  and 
Ay  lion,  had  been  carried,  in  1520,  to  lat.  34°.  Giovanni 
was,  no  doubt,  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  Spaniards  had 
reached  this  altitude  before  his  voyage  hither,  and  Hier- 
onimus  in  1529  had,  perhaps  heard  that  lat.  87°  had  been 
reached  by  Ay  lion  in  1526. 

Perhaps  the  indication  of  a  western  sea,  separated  by 
an  isthmus  from  the  Atlantic  ocean,  appearing  on  maps 
after  1529  as  Mar  de  Verrazano,  was  an  attempt  to  place 
the  great  Baia  de  Santa  Maria  (Chesapeake  bay)  on  his 
chart,  thus  giving  to  Nova  Gallia  the  appearance  of  a  land 
distinct  from  the  Florida  of  the  Spaniards.  This  would 
account  for  the  absence  of  all  mention  of  it  in  Giovanni's 
letter  of  1524. 

For  some  remarks  on  the  cosmographical  portion  of  the 
letter,  we  must  refer  to  the  notes  at  the  end  of  this  paper. 

His  OCCUPATIONS  AFTER  THE  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA. 

After  the  dispatch  of  the  letter  to  the  king,  we  learn 
from  Carli  that  Verrazano  was  expected  at  Lyons,  where 
he  may  have  gone  to  report  in  person  to  the  king,  but 
there  is  no  mention  of  his  appearance  there.  Afterwards 
we  almost  lose  sight  of  the  adventurous  explorer,  who 
offered  to  the  French  monarch  a  vast  province  in  a  tem 
perate  latitude,  on  which  France  might  well  have  concen 
trated  her  enterprise,  and  which  would  have  repaid  her  a 
hundred-fold  as  a  colony,  and  as  a  school  for  her  maritime 
forces.  But  at  that  time,  France  was  nearer  annihilation 
than  during  her  recent  struggle  with  Germany,  and  all 
thought  of  colonization  beyond  the  seas  was  out  of  the 
question.  The  king  was  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the 
emperor,  his  army  had  been  dispersed,  his  treasury 


52  NOTES  ON  THE  VEKRAZANO  MAP. 

emptied,  and  the  prospect  was  such  that  without  help 
from  abroad  France  would  have  become  a  province  of  the 
empire.  England,  at  this  juncture,  lent  her  assistance  to 
her  distracted  neighbor  in  her  traditional  form,  a  loan 
of  money.  As  Mr.  Biddle  well  suggests,*  Yerrazano, 
iinding  no  response  to  his  offers  to  make  further  explora 
tions,  may  have  laid  before  Henry  the  Eighth  his  newly 
made  discovery,  for  we  find  Hakluyt,  in  1582,  f  saying 
that  "  John  Verazanus,  which  had  been  thrise  on  that 
coast,  in  an  old  excellent  mappe  which  he  gave  to  King 
Henrie  the  eight,  and  is  yet  in  the  custodie  of  master 
Locke,  doth  so  lay  it  out  as  it  is  to  bee  seene  in  the  mappe 
annexed  to  the  end  of  this  boke,  beeing  made  according 
to  Verazanus  plat."  Hakluyt  is  advocating  a  renewed 
search  for  a  north-west  passage  to  China,  and  colonization 
of  the  coasts  visited  by  Verrazano.  His  statement  that 
he  had  been  thrice  on  that  coast  is  probably  taken  from 
Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert's  little  treatise  of  1566,  J  published 
in  1576,  who  only  says,  Cap.  X,  "Also  divers  have  offered 
the  like  unto  the  Frenche  king,  who  hath  sent  two  or  three 
times  to  have  discovered  the  same,"  meaning  the  north 
west  passage.  Gilbert  was,  no  doubt,  familiar  with  the 
work  of  Ramusius,  and  names  Verarsannus,  a  Florentine, 
several  times,  though  in  one  case  (Cap.  Ill,  §  7),  the 
name  of  Cartier  is  intended.  In  a  paragraph  just  before 
this,  he  states  that  "  Jacobus  Cartier  made  two  voyages 
into  those  partes."  He  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
acquainted  with  Roberval's  voyage,  so  that  he  evidently 
meant  to  include  Cartier's  voyages  of  1534  and  1536  in  his 
expression  above  quoted. 

Hakluyt  has  left  another  notice  of  the  "excellent 
Mappe"  contained  in  an  unpublished  manuscript  belong 
ing  to  Sir  Thomas  Phillips,  and  which  this  gentleman 
has  kindly  allowed  to  be  copied  for  the  Maine  Historical 


*Biddle's  Cabot,  1831,  p.  276.  \Dwers  Voyages,  Epist.  dedic. 

\A  discourse  of  a  Discouerie  for  a  new  passage  to  Gataia ;  London,  1576, 
4th.     This  rare  tract  is  given  in  Hakluyt. 


His  OCCUPATIONS  AFTER  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.        53 

Society.  This  manuscript  will  be  published  at  an  early 
date,  with  notes ;  but,  meanwhile,  in  the  first  volume  that 
was  prepared  for  this  society  by  Dr.  Kohl,  we  find  an 
extract  from  it,  added  to  a  foot-note  at  page  291,  by  the 
late  Gov.  Willis,  who  edited  the  volume.  This  manuscri  pt, 
prepared  in  1584  for  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  and  covering 
over  sixty-two  large  folio  pages,  makes,  in  Chap.  17, 
§§  10,11,  an  interesting  reference  to  "a  minhtle  large 
olde  mappe  in  parchmente,  made,  as  it  should  seme,  l>y 
Verrazanus,  now  In  the  custodie  of  Mr.  Michael  Locke" 
and  also  to  "an  olde  excellent  globe  in  the  Queene*  s 
prime  gallery  at  Westm'r,  lo'ch  also  seemetJi  to  be  of 
Verrazanus  making  e" 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  neither  of  these  passages 
from  Hakluyt  is  the  map  positively  said  to  have  been 
made  by  John  Verrazanus,  but  that  it  was  derived  from 
him,  and  that  it  seemed  to  be  of  his  make.  This  careful 
absence  of  an  assertion  that  it  was  by  John,  was,  no 
doubt,  owing  to  the  name  "  Hieronimus  de  Verrazano 
faciebat"  appearing  on  it.  Hakluyt  could  not  probably 
explain  this  difference  of  name,  and  therefore  makes  a 
carefully-guarded  statement  concerning  it. 

He  describes,  however,  the  map  now  preserved  in  Rome 
in  these  few  words  so  exactly  that  we  are  led  to  suppose 
that  it  was  the  very  one  that  was  presented  to  the  English 
king  about  1529,  and  still  to  be  seen  in  the  queen's 
gallery  in  1584.  Sebastian  Cabot's  great  mapamundi  of 
1544  was  also  in  this  gallery,  and  we  should  be  rejoiced 
to  find  in  some  old  document  a  list  merely  of  the  maps 
that  hung  there. 

That  Verrazano  may  have  made  a  proposal  for  discovery 
to  the  English  king  is  possible,  but  there  is  not  a  scrap  of 
evidence  to  prove  it,  excepting  Hakluyt' s  assertion  above 
quoted.  If  he  made  such  an  offer,  it  was  not  for  the  sake 
of  emolument,  for  he  seems  to  have  been  provided  with 
ample  funds,  as  we  have  just  shown,  and  as  might  be 
expected  after  the  rich  captures  he  had  made. 


54  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

In  1526,  or  perhaps  later,  his  name  is  included  as  the 
commander  or  pilot  of  a  squadron  of  three  vessels  fitting 
out,  apparently  for  a  mercantile  venture,  but  in  reality 
for  another  cruise  in  Spanish  waters.  We  find  proof  of 
this  in  a  document  discovered  and  quoted  by  the  indefa 
tigable  Mons.  Margry,  in  his  Navigations  Franqaises, 
etc.,  Paris,  1867,  p.  194,  and  given  in  a  partly  abridged 
and  translated  form  in  the  notes  to  this  paper. 

This  document  is  an  agreement  for  a  voyage  to  the 
Indies  for  spices,  including  prospective  predatory  cap 
tures,  which  last  were,  no  doubt,  the  chief  incentives  to 
the  enterprise.  Nothing  is  said  about  discovery,  or  the 
search  for  a  western  route  to  the  Moluccas. 

The  agreement  is  made  between  Philipe  Chabot, 
admiral  of  France,  Preudhomme,  the  general  of  Nor 
mandy,  several  merchants,  among  whom  is  the  notable 
and  famous  Jean  Ango,  and  "  messire  Jehan  de  Yaresam, 
principalle  pilote." 

This  was  indeed  a  partnership  of  distinguished  men  ; 
two  royal  officers  of  high  rank,  three  rich  merchants, 
and  a  pilot  who  is  able  to  venture  a  sum  equal  to  that  of 
Jean  Ango,  the  great  merchant-prince  of  Dieppe.  There 
can  be  but  little  doubt  that  this  pilot  was  our  successful 
corsair,  who  must  have  reaped  a  fair  share  of  the  prize 
taken  from  the  Spaniards.  The  paper,  unluckily,  is  not 
dated,  but,  as  Mons.  Margry  remarks,  it  must  be  posterior 
to  1525,  as  Chabot  was  not  appointed  admiral  of  France 
until  1526.* 

The  enterprise  was  hardly  meant  to  be  a  purely  com 
mercial  one,  when  the  character  of  three  of  the  partners 
is  taken  into  account.  Commanded  and  guided  by  a 
successful  corsair,  who  five  years  before,  had  captured 
most  valuable  prizes  from  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese, 
and  who,  three  years  before,  had  taken  the  spoils  of 

*His  appointment,  according  to  Pere  Anselme,  Vol.  IV,  p.  571,  dates 
from  the  23d  of  March,  1525.  As  the  legal  year  began  March  25th,  he  was 
really  appointed  in  1526. 


His  OCCUPATIONS  AFTER  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.        55 

Mexico  when  just  about  to  be  laid  at  the  emperor's  feet, 
it  is  not  likely  that  he  should  be  contented  with  a  distant 
and  uncertain  trip  to  the  Spice  islands.  *  This  new 
venture  was,  no  doubt,  to  be  another  corsairial  one,  and 
the  paragraph  of  the  agreement  which  alludes  to  possible 
prizes  to  be  taken,  and  which  we  give  in  full,  explains  the 
animus  of  the  undertaking. 

Giovanni  de  Verrazano  was  therefore  alive  and  prosper 
ous  in  1526.  That  the  French  were  able  to  fit  out  vessels 
in  spite  of  the  national  distress,  we  have  sufficient  proof. 
But  a  slight  impression  could  have  been  made  on  the 
towns  of  the  Atlantic  coast  by  the  war  with  the  emperor 
in  Italy.  The  armies  were  small,  the  French  Mediter 
ranean  fleets  were  fitted  out  on  the  southern  coasts,  and 
only  the  people  along  the  line  of  march  of  the  armies 
could  have  suffered  much. 

Whether  this  voyage  was  undertaken,  and  if  so,  what 
happened  during  the  course  of  it,  is  unknown.  If  the 
vessels  reached  the  East  Indies,  they  would  have  been 
absent  two  years.  Perhaps  a  careful  study  of  the  plani 
sphere  of  1529,  as  recording  what  was  then  known  about 
the  south-eastern  regions  of  Asia,  might  throw  some  light 
on  the  question  whether  Verrazano  was  there  in  person. 
A  cursory  study  of  it  will  show  that  it  contains  some 
discoveries  of  the  Portuguese,  then  recently  made ;  but 
these  may  have  been  copied  from  charts  taken  from  prizes, 
and  do  not  prove  anything. 

If  the  execution  of  our  navigator  took  place  in  1527,  f 
and  the  late  Buckingham  Smith  stated  to  the  president 
of  our  society  that  he  had  proofs  to  that  effect,  which  are 
shortly  to  be  published,  it  is  possible  that  Verrazano  was 
captured  while  on  this  cruise.  His  previous  success  may 


*  See  notes,  Admiral  Chabot ;  also  BuckingJiam  Smith. 

fSee  Transactions  of  this  Society  for  1871,  p.  82.  Also  the  Rev.  B.  F. 
De  Costa's  "Northmen  in  Maine,"  etc.,  1870,  p.  61,  note,  who  states,  on 
Mr.  Smith's  information,  that  the  execution  took  place  at  El  Pico,  in  New 
Castile,  in  October,  1527. 


(V-u_   <*** 

GwU,'^ 


56  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

have  led  to  the  fitting  out  of  the  armament  above  described, 
the  mention  of  the  East  Indies  in  the  agreement  having 
been  inserted  in  order  to  conceal  the  real  objects  of  the 
enterprise. 

The  uncertainty  that  hangs  over  his  death,  both  as  to 
its  manner  and  date,  may  be  cleared  up,  but  at  present 
his  name  disappears  from  history  after  the  proposed 
voyage  to  the  East  Indies. 

Ramusius,  in  the  preface  to  the  letter  of  1524,  states 
simply  that  on  the  last  voyage  which  he  made,  naming 
no  time  or  locality,  he  was  taken  by  "  those  people  "  when 
landing  with  some  companions,  and  was  roasted  and 
eaten  in  the  presence  of  those  who  had  remained  on  the 
ship.  Having  just  spoken  of  his  voyage  to  Florida, 
Ramusius,  no  doubt,  meant  by  "  those  people, "  American 
savages,  who  however,  never  killed  and  eat  captives 
unless  they  were  prisoners  of  war.  Supposing,  however, 
that  the  story  came  to  his  ears  in  that  form,  whence  or 
from  whom  did  he  derive  it  ? 

Ramusius  was  in  correspondence  with  Oviedo,  the 
Spanish  historian  of  the  Indies,  and  may  have  learned 
the  story  from  him,  as  we  shall  presently  show,  though 
Oviedo  could  hardly  have  told  it  as  having  happened  to 
Verrazano.  Ramusius  himself,  as  we  suppose,  inserted 
the  Italian  navigator's  name  as  the  victim  of  the  butchery. 

In  order  to  understand  clearly  what  we  are  to  believe, 
it  will  be  well  to  say  that  no  exploring  voyage  to  the 
American  coast,  between  Terra  Nova  and  Florida,  is 
known  to  have  been  made  between  the  years  1524  and  1534, 
excepting  the  Spanish  ones  of  Estevan  Gomez,  in  1525, 
and  of  Ayllon,  in  1526,  and  one  by  John  Rut,  or  Root, 
sent  out  in  1527  by  Henry  the  Eighth.  The  French,  most 
certainly,  did  not  undertake  one,  and  the  above  are  the 
only  ones  of  which  there  is  any  record. 

The  voyage  of  Gomez,  who  explored  the  coast  from 
Bacalaos  to  Cuba,  was  planned  in  1523,  but  was  delayed 
until  1525  by  his  having  to  attend  the  Council  of  Bajadoz, 


His  OCCUPATIONS  AFTER  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.        57 

and  it  was  then  possibly  hastened  by  the  report  that 
the  French  had  undertaken  a  similar  one.  Ay  lion's 
voyage  was  made  northwards  from  the  West  Indies,  and 
is  fully  described  by  Oviedo  ;  but  he  certainly  did  not 
get  further  north  than  Cape  Fear,  in  north  lat.  34°. 

The  English  voyage  to  which  we  have  alluded  was 
made  in  1527,  but  very  little  is  known  about  it.  It  appears 
to  have  been  an  attempt  to  accomplish  the  discovery  of  a 
north-west  passage  by  some  strait  north  of  Newfoundland, 
and  like  all  others  before  and  since,  it  failed  in  its  object. 
It  is  not  certain  at  whose  instance  it  was  undertaken, 
Hakluyt  giving  Robert  Thorne,  an  English  merchant 
trading  in  Seville,  as  its  projector,'*  while  Biddle  hints  at 
the  possibility  of  its  having  originated  with  Verrazano.  f 
If  he  sailed  for  the  East  Indies  about  this  time,  he  could 
not  have  been  in  England  to  propose  such  an  expedition. 
We  find,  however,  that  a  certain  learned  Italian,  Albert 
de  Prato,  was  with  the  expedition,  and  it  is  possible  that 
he  was  the  active  agent  who  induced  the  English  monarch 
to  send  it  forth.  De  Prato  was  a  Florentine,  perhaps  a 
friend  or  agent  of  Verrazano' s,  who  may  have  supplied 
him  with  the  arguments  to  lay  before  the  king  in  favor  of 
the  enterprise.  Jerome,  the  author  of  the  map  before  us, 
may  have  accompanied  him  to  England  to  forward  the 
views  of  his  relative,  but  all  this  is  mere  conjecture. 

Hakluyt,  in  1582,  and  in  his  later  works,  speaks  of  an 
expedition  of  1527,  about  which  he  could  ascertain  but 
very  little.  J 

Samuel  Purchas,  in  Vol.  Ill  of  his  "  Pilgrimes,"  1625, 
p.  809,  has  a  letter,  written  from  Newfoundland,  August 
3d,  1527,  and  some  authentic  details  concerning  this 
voyage,  made  nearly  a  century  before.  We  learn  that  its 
commander  was  John  Rut ;  that  two  vessels,  the  Mary  of 
Guilford  and  the  Samson,  were  under  his  command,  and 

*  See  note,  Voyage  of  1527.  f  Biddle,  Cabot,  p.  276. 

JSee  note,  Voyage  0/1527,  and  HaJdnyt,  on  same. 

8 


58  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

that  they  sailed  from  Plymouth  June  10th,  and  attempted 
to  pass  to  the  north  of  Newfoundland.  The  Samson 
parted  company  in  a  storm,  and  was  not  heard  of  again, 
while  the  Mary,  two  days  afterwards,  on  the  third  of  July, 
met  with  ice,  and,  giving  up  the  main  purpose  of  the 
voyage,  put  into  St.  Johns,  Newfoundland.  Here  Kut 
addressed  a  letter,  dated  August  3d,  to  the  king,  accom 
panied  by  one  from  Albert  de  Prato  to  Cardinal  Wolsey. 
Purchas,  unluckily,  does  not  give  this  last  one,  and  the 
originals  of  both  have  disappeared.  Kut  declares  his 
purpose  to  reach  certain  islands,  to  which  he  has  been 
ordered,  whether  the  Moluccas  or  West  Indies  is  uncer 
tain.  Purchas  says  nothing  about  the  return  of  Rut,  but 
Hakluyt,  in  his  work  of  1589,  informs  us  that  he  had 
heard  that  he  reached  home  in  October. 

This  is  all  that  is  positively  known  about  this  voyage, 
from  English  sources,  but  we  find  in  two  Spanish  authors 
a  notice  of  the  visit  of  an  English  corsair  to  the  West 
Indies  in  this  year,  whose  commander  gave  such  an 
account  of  his  adventures  that,  as  first  suggested  by  Mr. 
Biddle  in  1831,  we  must  believe  the  vessel  to  1m ve  been 
the  Mary  of  Gruilford.* 

The  story  was  told  by  the  English  commander  to  a 
certain  Grinez  Navarro,  captain  of  a  caravel  in  the  harbor 
of  San  Juan  (Portorico),  in  November,  1527,  and  it  agrees 
well  with  the  details  recounted  in  the  letter  of  August  3d, 
but  has  the  additional  mention  of  the  death  of  his  pilot. 
This,  he  said,  had  happened  between  Newfoundland  and 
Rio  Chicoraf  (Savannah  R).  The  pilot,  a  Piedrnontese, 
had  landed  to  speak  to  the  Indians,  who  had  killed  him. 
His  name  is  not  given,  nor  is  it  said  that  he  was  roasted 
and  eaten,  together  with  those  who  landed  with  him. 

Mr.  Biddle,:}:  with  much  ingenuity,  placing  the  above 

*  See  note,   Oviedo  and  Herrera  on  the  English  vessel  of  1527. 
f  This  name  was  given  by  Ayllon  in  1520. 
t  Biddle,  Cabot,  Chaps.  IX,  XIV. 


His  OCCUPATIONS  AFTER  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.        59 

facts  together,  concludes  that  the  Piedmontese  pilot  was 
Verrazano,  thus  confirming  the  account  by  Ramusius, 
and  giving  its  true  date.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  name 
of  Verrazano  is  nowhere  associated  with  this  voyage,  and 
that  Mr.  Biddle's  conjecture  is  founded  on  the  fact  related 
to  Navarro  that  the  pilot  was  a  Piedmontese,  and  that 
his  fate  was  somewhat  similar  to  the  one  recounted  by 
Ramusius  as  having  happened  to  our  navigator. 

From  this  theory,  plausible  as  it  may  appear,  we  must 
dissent,  for  the  following  reasons  :  Verrazano  was  a 
person  of  too  much  consequence,  supposing  him  to  have 
been  the  pilot  of  the  expedition,  to  have  remained  without 
mention  in  Rut' s  letter.  Neither  was  his  name  recorded 
in  De  Prato'  s  letter,  else  Purchas  would  have  quoted  it, 
for  it  was  familiar  to  the  author  of  the  "  Pilyrimes"  and 
he  would  have  eagerly  published  the  fact. 

Again,  had  Verrazano  been  with  Capt.  John  Rut,  it  is 
not  probable  that  he  would  consent  to  repeat  his  explora 
tion  of  our  coast  while  the  north-west  passage  remained 
to  be  attempted.  This  would  have  converted  an  enter 
prise  which  had  a  noble  object  into  a  mere  trading  voyage, 
while  we  know  that  Verrazano1  s  favorite  idea  was  the 
discovery  of  a  short  sea-way  to  the  Moluccas.  He  had, 
to  be  sure,  proposed  colonization  to  the  French  king,  but 
Rut  seems  to  have  had  no  such  instructions.  As  Navarro 
relates,  he  wished  to  reach  the  territory  of  the  Grand 
Khan,  but  was  easily  turned  aside  from  his  purpose,  and 
sought  a  market  for  his  wares  in  the  West  Indies. 

Verrazano,  further,  was  the  very  last  person  to  have 
consented  to  a  West  India  voyage  only,  for  his  name  was 
in  every  Spaniard's  mouth  as  having  captured  several  of 
their  treasure- ships,  and  he  would  not  have  deliberately 
put  his  head  into  the  lion' s  mouth. 

If  Rut  did  lose  his  pilot  in  the  manner  told  by  Rut,  it 
may  well  have  been  Albert  de  Pra,to  who  was  killed.  We 
know  nothing  about  this  Florentine,  but  he  appears  to 
have  been  the  companion  and  associate  of  Rut,  no  doubt 


GO  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

his  pilot,  as  sailing  masters  were  then  called,  and  he  was 
probably  in  possession  of  a  chart  of  the  exploration  of 
1524.  Ignorant  of  the  savage  nature  of  the  tribes  inhabit 
ing  the  coasts  of  Maine,  who  appear  to  have  been  made 
more  hostile  by  the  French  fishing  vessels,  who  from  an 
early  day  frequented  those  coasts,  he  may  have  been 
massacred  on  attempting  to  land  among  them.  V errazano 
knew  their  nature  better,  and  would  not  have  exposed 
himself  to  such  risks. 

The  stubborn  fact,  however,  remains  that  Ramusius 
should  himself  have  ascribed  such  a  fate  to  Verrazano. 
The  Italian  historian  may  have,  perhaps,  learned  from 
Oviedo,  that  the  Italian  pilot  of  an  English  vessel  was 
killed  on  our  coast,  and  thus  supposed  the  victim  to  have 
been  Verrazano. 

Oviedo,  however,  in  his  account  of  the  visit  of  the 
English  vessel,  as  quoted  in  the  appendix,  does  not  say 
a  word  about  the  death  of  its  pilot,  and  has  it  that  the 
vessel  came  from  Brazil.  It  is  however  certain  that  it 
was  the  same  vessel  which  is  mentioned  by  Herrera,  from 
the  attendant  circumstances  being  described  exactty  as 
told  by  Navarre.  Oviedo  places  the  visit  in  the  year  1527, 
while  Herrera  erroneously  puts  it  in  1519.'* 

As  al cade  or  commander  of  the  fort  of  the  city  of  Santo 
Domingo  after  1533,  which  had  fired  on  the  Englishman, 
he  must  have  gathered  many  details  on  the  spot,  though 
his  account  is  less  full  than  Navarro's  report,  which  was 
first  published  by  Herrera  in  1601,  and  which  Ramusius, 
probably,  never  saw. 

It  might  be  suggested  that  the  Italian  historian  was 
also  a  correspondent  of  the  veteran  navigator,  Sebastian 
Cabot,  and  learned  the  story  from  him.  But  Cabot  was 
engaged  from  1525  to  1531  on  his  expedition  to  the  La 
Plata  river.  He  may  have  heard  of  the  voyage  of  Rut 

*  The  Rev.  B.  F.  De  Costa  dissents  from  this  supposition,  but  he  had  not 
seen  the  account  in  Oviedo.  See  Northmen  in  Maine,  p.  54. 


His  OCCUPATIONS  AFTER  VOYAGE  10  AMERICA.        61 

afterwards,  and  of  the  death  of  his  pilot,  and  learned  his 
name.  *  Had  it  been  Yerrazano,  and  had  he  written  to 
that  effect  to  Rainusius,  he  would  have  added  some 
authentic  facts,  which  the  latter  would  have  recorded, 
leaving  no  uncertainty  as  to  the  date  of  his  disappearance. 

One  more  remark,  and  we  close  this  part  of  our  subject. 
If  Yerrazano  had  lost  his  life  after  his  capture  by  the 
Spaniards  or  in  the  manner  suggested  by  Ramusius,  it 
would  seem  remarkable  to  h'rid  no  allusion  to  his  death  on 
the  planisphere  of  1529.  This  map  contains  several 
legends  on  the  American  coast  relating  to  him,  and  if  he 
had  died  meanwhile,  they  would  have  been,  no  doubt, 
differently  worded  ;  or  if  he  had  been  killed  on  that  coast, 
Hieronimus  would  have  added  a  legend  to  that  effect. 
The  voyage  of  1527  was  so  recent  that  the  mapmaker 
could  have  easily  ascertained  from  Rut  or  his  companions 
the  precise  locality  where  the  scene  had  occurred. 

From  a  consideration  of  all  the  above  data,  we  must 
conclude  that  if  Yerrazano  lost  his  life  on  our  coast,  it 
was  not  on  the  voyage  made  by  the  Mary  of  Guilford  in 
1527.  Ramusius  may  be  right  in  his  account  of  it,  but 
then  it  must  have  happened  at  a  later  date,  which  is  pos 
sible,  although  no  record  has  been  preserved  of  voyages 
hither,  by  exploring  vessels  of  any  nationality,  until  1534, 
when  Jacques  Cartier  sailed  around  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law 
rence,  and  in  1536  wintered  on  the  river  of  the  same  name, 
near  Quebec. 

After  the  positively  authentic  appearance  of  Yerrazano 
as  a  subscriber  to  the  French  expedition  to  the  East 
Indies,  and  as  its  chief  pilot,  we  lose  sight  of  the  Floren 
tine  completely.  He  may  have  died  in  the  course  of  it, 
if  it  ever  left  the  shores  of  France,  but  all  speculations 
as  to  his  occupations  after  this  must  be  mere  guesses, 

*  A  tale  was  told  in  Spain,  concerning  Cabot  himself,  somewhat  similar  to 
this  one,  namely,  that  he  had  been  killed  in  a  conflict  with  the  natives,  for 
which  see  Biddle's  Cabot,  p.  167. 


62  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

though  future  researches  may  bring  to  light,  as  in  the 
case  of  Sebastian  Cabot  and  Jean  Alfonse,  some  papers 
that  might  help  to  clear  up  the  doubts  which  now  sur 
round  his  career.  His  name  appears  but  once  after  the 
year  1526,  and  then  in  such  a  manner  that  no  satis 
factory  inference  can  be  drawn  from  it. 

Tiraboschi,  the  author  of  a  most  valuable  history  of 
Italian  literature,  who  was  the  first,  as  before  sta/ted,  to 
draw  attention  to  the  Strozzi  manuscript,  also  referred  to 
a  letter,  printed  in  1581,  *  among  the  collection  of  the 
epistles  of  Annibal  Caro,  as  having  a  reference  to  Giovanni 
di  Verrazano. 

This,  the  seventh  of  the  collection,  is  dated  from  Castro, 
October  13th,  1537,  and  is  addressed  to  the  inmates  of  the 
household  of  Mgr.  Giovanni  Gaddi  at  Rome,  Caro  being 
at  that  time  the  secretary  of  the  Cardinal,  and  already 
distinguished  for  his  literary  and  artistic  tastes.  It  is 
written  in  a  playful  vein,  and  is  of  considerable  length, 
describing  the  little  journey  he  was  making,  in  humorous 
terms.  In  the  beginning,  he  speaks  of  having  been  left 
at  home  while  his  friends  have  gone  to  visit  some  caves, 
and  to  pass  the  time,  he  now  addresses  them,  each  in  turn, 
in  this  epistle.  The  first  one  addressed  is  a  Verrazano, 
in  the  following  terms  : 

"  To  you,  Verrazano,  as  a  searcher  (cercatore)  of  new 
worlds  and  of  their  wonders,  I  cannot  yet  tell  anything 
worthy  of  your  map,  for  we  have  passed  no  lands  which 
have  not  already  been  discovered  by  you,  or  by  your 
brother  (fratello)." 

The  rest  of  the  letter  is  meant  to  be  amusing,  but  in  the 
passage  above  quoted  he  is  certainly  addressing  a  real 
personage.  Mr.  Smith,  in  his  Inquiry,  assumes  that 

*  The  editions  of  1572  and  1574,  printed  by  Manucius  in  Venice,  we  have 
not  seen.  We  quote  from  the  one  issued  by  the  Giunti  in  Venice,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  6-9,  entitled,  "  De  lettere  famUiari  del  Commendatore  Annibal  Caro.  In 
Venetia,  appresso  Bernardo  Giunti,  e  Fratelli,  M.D.LXXXT."  2  vols.  8°,  pp. 
176  and  272. 


Hrs  OCCUPATIONS  AFTER  VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA.       53 

Caro  was  at  this  time  a  tutor  in  the  family  of  M.  Gaddi, 
an  opulent  Florentine,  and  that  he  was  addressing  his 
pupils,  and  sportively  referring  to  their  studies.  Anni- 
bal  Caro  was  born  in  1507,  and  coming  of  a  poor  but  good 
family,  he  was  compelled,  after  completing  his  studies, 
to  become  a  tutor  to  the  children  of  Ludovico  Gaddi,  in 
Florence.  The  cardinal,  a  brother  of  Ludovico,  noticed 
him,  and  took  him  to  Rome  as  his  secretary.  This  was 
in  or  before  1537,  consequently  Caro  was  not  addressing 
his  pupils  in  Florence,  but  a  household  composed  of  men 
of  considerable  intelligence  and  learning.  Hieronimus 
was,  no  doubt,  one  of  the  cardinal's  proteges,  and  was, 
therefore,  playfully  addressed  by  Caro.  It  is  hardly 
possible,  now  that  we  have  the  mapamundiof  1529  before 
us,  to  doubt  but  that  the  author  wTas  the  mapmaker  of 
the  letter.  Thsfrafallo  may  have  been  Giovanni,  but, 
so  far,  no  evidence  to  corroborate  his  being  still  alive  in 
1537  is  known.  Had  he  not  been  then  in  existence,  how 
ever,  the  terms  of  the  letter  would  probably  have  been 
differently  worded. 

In  time,  some  proofs  settling  the  vexed  question  of 
Verrazano's  death  may  be  discovered,  but  at  the  present 
time  we  know  nothing  that  is  convincing  and  satisfactory. 

Verrazano  was  certainly  alive  in  and  after  1526,  and 
w^as  then  only  forty-six  years  old.  He  had  been  success 
ful  as  a  corsair,  was  an  experienced  navigator,  and  must 
have  been  a  man  of  some  mark  arid  influence.  Had  he 
been  captured  and  hanged,  or  had  he  met  with  the  death 
described  by  Ramusius,  the  occurrence  would  certainly 
have  been  noted  somewhere,  and  a  document  may  yet  be 
found,  attesting  the  mode  of  his  death,  whether  fortuitous 
or  from  natural  causes.  The  discovery  of  this  mapa- 
mundi,  so  long  unknown,  shows  that  we  may  yet  hope 
to  learn  further  details  concerning  the  first  explorer  of 
our  coasts.  The  land  that  can  pride  itself  on  having 
produced  a  Columbus,  a  Vespucius  and  a  Verrazano,  is 
no  longer  divided  into  petty  states,  rivals  and  jealous  of 


64 


NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 


each  others  fame,  but  is  a  great  and  united  empire.  The 
memory  of  deeds  done  in  the  past  by  a  Genoese  or  a 
Florentine,  a  Venetian  or  a  Neapolitan,  ought  to  be 
recorded  as  done  by  an  Italian,  and  thus  induce  a  more 
active  inquiry  into  what  is  now  obscure  and  neglected. 


CONTENTS.  65 


NOTES  TO  PAPER  ON  YEKKAZANO. 


I.  Bacalaos. 

II.  Explorations  for  a  Western  Strait  North  of  Florida,  up  to  the 
year  1527. 

III.  Explorations  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  of  Florida  from  the  South, 

1510, 1526. 

IV.  Explorations  for  a  Strait  to  the  Westward  in  the  Caribbean  Sea 

and  within  the  tropics. 
V.  Explorations  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
VI.  Sebastian  Cabot. 

VII.  Alonzo  de  Zuazo  on  a  Strait  to  the  Moluccas. 
VIII.  Hernando  Cortes  and  his  proposal  in  1524  to  search  for  a  Strait. 
IX.  Estevan  Gomez. 

X.  Identification  of  Juan  Florin  as  Giovanni  di  Verrazano. 
XL  Decades  of  the  New  World  ,  by  Peter  Martyr. 
XII.  Letters  of  Peter  Martyr. 

XIII.  Contarini  on  the  French  corsairs. 

XIV.  Herrera's  Decades. 
XV.  Bernal  Diaz  del  Castillo. 

XVI.  Oviedo  on  the  capture  of  1523. 
XVII.  Gomara  on  Florin. 
XVIII.  De  Barcia  on  Juan  Verrazano. 

XIX.  De  Viera  on  Juan  Florin. 
XX.  Cortes  de  Valladolid,  1523. 

XXI.  Cortes  de  Toledo,  1525. 
XXII.  Corsairs  in  the  West  Indies  after  1527. 

XXIII.  Routes  to  and  from  the  Indies. 

XXIV.  Suppression  of  geographical  knowledge  by  Spain. 
XXV.  Family  of  Verrazano. 

XXVI.  Crignon,  Parmentier,  Estancelin. 
XXVII.  Desmarquets. 
XXVIII.  Ribault. 
XXIX.  Tavannes  Memoirs,  1536. 
XXX.  Andre  Thevet,  1557. 
XXXI.  Francois  de  Belle-forest,  1570. 
XXXII.  Italian  versions  of  the  Heading  to  the  Letter. 

XXXIII.  Cosmographical  portion  of  the  Letter. 

XXXIV.  Notes  on  the  cosmographical  portion  of  the  Letter. 
XXXV.  Examination  of  the  Voyage  across  the  Atlantic. 

9 


(36  CONTENTS. 

XXXVI.  Thomassy. 

XXXVII.  Description  of  the  Mapamundi  by  Hieronimus  de  Verrazano. 
XXXVIII.  Charts  after  Verrazano. 
XXXIX.  New  France,  of  Verrazano. 
XL.  Gastaldi,  1548,  Mercator,  1569. 
XLI.  Ramusius. 

XLII.  Admiral  Chabot  and  Verrazano. 
XLIII.  Oviedo  on  the  English  voyage  of  1527. 
XLIV.  Herrera  on  the  voyage  of  1527. 
XLV.  Hakluyt  on  Rut's  voyage  of  1527. 
XL VI.  Tiraboschi. 
XLVII.  Carli's  letter. 
XLVIII.  Jean  Alfonse,  and  his  death. 

XLIX.  Buckingham  Smith's  notices  of  Verrazano's  voyage. 
L.  Dr.  J.  G-.  Kohl  on  Verrazano's  voyage. 


BACALAOS.  67 


NOTES. 


I.— BACALAOS. 

Numerous  derivations  have  been  suggested  for  this  word, 
which  is  simply  an  old  Mediterranean  or  Romance  name,  given 
to  the  preserved  Codfish,  when  it  has  been  dried  and  kept  open 
and  extended  by  the  help  of  a  small  stick.  This  was  the  Stock 
fish  of  the  North,  and  from  the  word  bactdum,  it  became  the 
jBacalao  and  Baccalieu  of  the  South  of  Europe.  The  baculum 
or  rod  was  an  attribute  of  the  Gods  Bacchus  and  Mercury, 
being  perhaps  a  synonym  of  the  first,  in  allusion  to  the  rod  sup 
porting  the  grape-vine.  Many  words  of  Latin  origin  can  be 
traced  to  this  and  the  Greek  ftdx^oq. 

Another  root,  the  Sanscrit  cad  or  gad,  a  stick,  is  found  in  the 
Greek  and  Latin  name  of  this  fish  as  Gadus.  The  English  word 
goad  shows  the  same  root,  and  gives  the  English  name  Codfish. 

The  Holland  word  Gabel,  a  fork,  Latin  gabalus,  is  the  root  of 
the  word  Cabelyau,  the  Batavian  name  of  the  Codfish. 

Other  varieties  of  the  dried  Cod  are  known  as  Dunfish, 
because  dried  on  the  downs  or  dunes  /  Klipjish  when  dried  on 
the  cliffs  or  klippen:  Tusk  or  Torsfc  when  dried  by  the  help  of 
fire,  from  dorren,  Norwegian  to  dry,  past  part,  gedorr. 

The  French  name  Morue,  for  the  Codfish,  is  of  uncertain  ori 
gin.  It  may  be  from  Mor,  a  Gothic  name  for  the  sea,  having  the 
same  root  as  Mare,  Mer,  etc.  The  French  name  for  wet  salted 
Cod  is  Morue  verte,  perhaps  from  its  being  procured  from  the 
Isle  Verte,  which  is,  as  we  believe,  one  of  the  earliest  names  given 
to  Newfoundland,  and  may  be  found  there  still  in  the  name 
Bane  au  vert,  or  green  bank,  South  of  the  Island.  We  shall 
endeavor  to  show  at  another  time  that  the  Banks  were  visited 
for  their  fisheries,  and  were  well  known  in  the  early  part  of  the 
fifteenth  century. 


68  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

II.— EXPLORATIONS    FOR    A    WESTERN    STRAIT    TO 
THE  NORTH  OF  FLORIDA,  UP  TO  THE  YEAR  1527. 

The  early  explorations  of  the  Northmen  from  Greenland,  and 
the  fishing  voyages  of  the  Bretons  and  others,  were  not  made  in 
search  of  a  strait,  and  are  not  here  noticed. 

1476.  Johann  von  Kolno  or  Scolnus  said  to  have  been  sent  by 
Christian  II  of  Denmark,  to  search  westward,  and  to  have  reached 
land  west  of  Greenland. 

1490-96.  Bristol  men  attempt  at  various  times  to  sail  out  west 
ward,  but  find  no  land. 

1497.  Sebastian  Cabot  leaves  Bristol  in  May,  with  one  vessel  ; 
passes  to  the  South  of  Isle  Verte  or  Bacalaos,  and  enters  the 
gulf  behind  it  June  24th,  searching  for  a  strait  to  the  West ; 
sails  around  the  gulf,  passing  out  through  the  Strait  of  Belleisle, 
and  reaches  home  about  August  10. 

1498.  Cabot  is  said  to  have  made  another  voyage  with  uncer 
tain  results.     Probably  coasted  north  of  lat.  52  deg. 

1500.  Juan  Dornelos,  said  to  have  been  sent  from  Spain  to 
explore  to  the  Northwest. 

1500.  G-aspar  Cortereal  leaves  Lisbon  with  one  or  two  vessels, 
in  May,  and  sails  North  of  Bacalhaos  to  Labrador,  but  does  not 
land  there,  being  absent  about  five  months. 

1501.  G-aspar  leaves  again,  May  15th,  with  three  vessels  and 
lands  in  Labrador.     He  is  lost,  but  the  other  two  vessels  reach 
home  about   the  middle  of  October,   bringing  seventy  of   the 
natives. 

1501.  An  English  expedition  said  to  have  visited  Terra  Nova, 
guided  by  Portuguese. 

1502.  Miguel   Cortereal,  brother  of  Gaspar,  leaves  May  10th 
with  one  vessel  for  Bacalhaos,  and  is  not  again  heard  of. 

1503.  Two  vessels  said  to  have  been  sent  to  search  for  the 
Cortereals,  which  perhaps  survey  the  coast  from  Cabo  Raso  to 
Bonavista. 

1504-6.  Jean  Denis  leaves  Honfleur  with  Gamart  of  Rouen 
as  pilot,  and  explores  the  Island  of  Newfoundland,  North  of 
Bonavista. 

1508.  Tfiomas  Aubert,  of  Dieppe,  in  the  Pensee,  visits  New 
foundland. 


EXPLORA  TIONS  OF  A  TL  ANTIC  COAST  OF  FLORIDA.          69 

15  J  2.  Juan  de  Agramonte,  commissioned  by  Queen  Juana  of 
Castile,  to  explore  to  the  Northwest,  with  two  Breton  pilots. 

1524.  Giovanni  di  Verrazano,  in  the  employ  of  Francis  the 
First,   after  an  unsuccessful   attempt   in    1522,    leaves   Madeira 
January  17th  with  one  vessel,  sights  the  New  Jersey  coast  of 
the  United  States,  and  explores  these  shores  from  lat.  39  deg.  to 
44  deg.,  and  reaches  Dieppe  July  4th. 

1525.  Estevan  Gomes,  a  Portuguese  in  Spanish  employ,  leaves 
Corunna  with  one  vessel,  traces  the  American  coast  from  North 
to  South,  from  lat.  44  to  34,  and  reaches  Corunna  in  December, 
bringing  home  a  number  of  the  natives. 

1526.  Nicolas  Don  (D'aunis?),  a  Breton  fisherman,  is  driven 
by  gales  Southwest  from  Cape  Breton,  and  believing  that  he 
has   discovered    new    coasts,    offers    to    explore    them    for    the 
Emperor. 

1527.  John  Rut,  with  Albert  de  Prato  as  pilot  and  cosmogrnpher, 
leaves  the  Thames,  May  20th,  with  two  vessels,  the  Mary  of 
Guilford  and  the  Samson,  to  search  for  a  strait  westward.     The 
Samson  is  lost  in  June,  and  her  consort  puts  into  St.  Johns,  New 
foundland,  where  they  found  Norman,  Breton  and  Portuguese 
fishing  vessels,  and  then  coasted  to  Florida,  visited  Hispaniola 
and  Porto  Rico,  reaching  home  in  October. 


III.— EXPLORATIONS   OF   THE   ATLANTIC   COAST   OF 
FLORIDA,  FROM  THE  SOUTH,  1510-1526. 

1510  or  before.  Terra  or  Isla  de  Bimini  (Bahama  or  perhaps 
Florida)  discovered. 

1513.  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  with  the  pilot  Alarninos,  discovers 
the  mainland  of  Florida,  coasting  its  gulf  shore  to  lat.  24  deg., 
and  the  Atlantic  shore  to  near  lat.  30  deg.  On  his  return  he  has 
to  stem  the  Gulf  Stream,  gets  entangled  among  the  Bahamas, 
and  finds  the  pilot  Diego  Miruelo  the  elder  exploring  them. 

1520.  The  Licentiate  Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon,  one  of  the 
Auditors  of  Hispaniola,  sends  two  vessels  from  Puerto  de  Plata, 
on  the  North  side  of  Cuba,  to  capture  slaves  along  the  coast  of 


70  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

Florida.  One  of  his  vessels  said  to  have  been  commanded  by 
Captain  Jordan,  with  Diego  Miruelo  as  pilot,  the  other  by  the 
pilot  Pedro  de  Quejo.  This  last  one  reaches  in  lat.  34  deg., 
August  18,  Cabo  de  Sta  Elena  (Cape  Fear)  and  probably  farther 
still. 

In  company  with  the  last  one  of  Ayllon's  vessels  there  went  a 
small  vessel,  sent  by  another  of  the  Auditors,  Juan  Ortiz  de 
Matienzo,  under  the  pilot  Fernando  Sotil,  for  exploration,  which 
went  as  far  as  lat.  34  deg.  also. 

1521.  De  Leon  having  a  royal  grant  to  colonize  Bimini  and 
Florida,  makes  an  expedition  with  two  vessels  from  St.  Juan 
(Porto  Rico). 

1521.  Ayllon  said  to  have  again  sent  two  vessels  to  Chicora, 
which  appear  to  have  coasted  as  far  as  Bahia  Santa  Maria  (Chesa 
peake  Bay). 

1523.  June  26,  Ayllon  obtains  a  royal  grant  to  colonize  Chicora 
and  other  provinces,  between  35  deg.  and  37  deg.,  but  delays 
acting  under  it. 

1526.  Ayllon  takes  the  command  of  a  large  expedition,  con 
sisting  of  one  large  and  three  smaller  vessels,  with  two  boats, 
manned  or  carrying  500  men  and  80  or  90  horses.  Leaves  Puerto 
de  Plata  with  Pedro  de  Quejo  as  pilot,  in  middle  of  July.  The 
larger  vessel  is  lost  entering  the  Rio  Jordan  (Cape  Fear  R.), 
winters  at  Guadalpe,  some  40  or  50  leagues  to  the  S.  W.  (Pedee 
R.,  Georgetown?).  Ayllon  died  October  18,  leaving  his  nephew 
Juan  Ramirez  as  Governor.  The  dissensions  that  arose  after  his 
death  and  the  many  deaths  from  disease  and  cold,  cause  the 
abandonment  of  the  enterprise,  and  150  men  only  get  back,  the 
body  of  Ayllon  being  lost  on  the  way  by  the  foundering  of  one 
of  the  small  vessels. 


A  careful  and  close  analysis  of  the  Maps  of  1527  and  1529,  of 
Hernando  Colon  and  Diego  Ribero,  was  published  in  1860,  by 
Dr.  J.  G.  Kohl.  The  names  on  the  Maps  are  compared  by  him 
with  the  known  documents  that  illustrate  their  origin.  We 
must  refer  to  this  able  work  for  critical  details  which  lie  beyond 
the  scope  of  this  paper. 


EXPL  OR  A  TIONS  FOR  A  STRAIT  IN  THE  GA  RIBBEA  N  SEA.     7 1 

IV.— EXPLORATIONS  FOR  A  STRAIT  TO  THE  WEST 
WARD,  IN  THE  CARIBBEAN  SEA  AND  WITHIN 
THE  TROPICS. 

1492.  Christopher  Columbus,  sailing  westward,  discovers 
islands,  and  reaches  to  Nuevitas  on  the  north  side  of  Cuba. 

1493-96.  Columbus  sails  on  his  second  voyage,  but  only 
reaches  the  Isle  of  Pines  on  the  south  side  of  Cuba. 

1498-1500.  Columbus  on  his  third  voyage  discovers  the  main 
land  of  South  America,  near  the  Island  of  Trinidad,  coasting  to 
Margarita. 

1499-1500.  Alonzo  de  Hoyeda,  with  Juan  de  la  Cosa  and 
Americus  Vesputius,  touches  S.  America,  and  coasts  it  to  lat. 
3  deg.  North. 

Alonzo  Nino  and  Christoval  Guerra  :  uncertain  as  to  point 
reached. 

Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon  reaches  to  lat.  8  deg.  20  min.  South  of 
the  Equator,  on  the  coast  of  S.  America. 

1500.  Diego  de  Lepe  searches  South  of  Cape  St.  Augustine. 

1500.  Pedro  Alvarez  Cabral,  with  a  Portuguese  fleet,  on  his 
way  to  the  East  Indies,  discovers  the  East  coast  of  Brazil. 

1500-1502.  Rodrigo  de  Bastidas  with  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  coasts 
the  mainland  of  S.  America,  to  Cape  San  Bias  on  the  isthmus. 

1502-3.  Hoyeda,  with  Juan  de  Vergara,  follows  the  same  coast 
to  Curasao. 

1502-4.  Columbus  on  his  fourth  voyage  explores  the  coast  of 
the  Caribbean  Sea  from  Guanaza  and  Ruatan  Is.  to  near  the  Gulf 
of  Darien. 

1504-5.  Juan  de  la  Cosa  visits  the  Gulf  of  Uraba. 

1505.  Hojeda  visits  the  coast  near  Caquibacoa. 

1506  or  7.  Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon  and  Juan  Diaz  de  Solis  sail 
west  from  Hispaniola,  and  explore  the  coast  of  Yucatan,  from 
Golfo  Dulce  to  the  Rio  de  Lagartos  on  the  North  shore. 

1508-9.  Pinzon  and  De  Solis  reach  lat.  40  deg.  S.,  on  the  coast 
of  Brazil. 

1511.  Peter  Martyr's  map  appears:  the  first  Spanish  one  of 
the  West  Indies  published  up  to  that  date.  It  contains  all  the 
West  Indian  discoveries  up  to  the  year  1508. 

1513.  De  Balboa  discovers  the  Mar  del  Sur. 


72  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

1524.  Gil  Gonzales  Davila  sent  from  Hispaniola  to  search  for 
a  strait  about  Golfo  Dulce. 


V.— EXPLORATIONS  IN  THE  GULF  OF  MEXICO. 

Columbus  on  his  first  voyage  in  1492  was  steering  along  the 
parallel  of  28  deg.  directly  for  the  coast  of  the  United  States, 
and  if  he  had  not  turned  to  the  Southwest,  would  have  made 
land  about  Cape  Carnaveral  in  Florida.  On  this  voyage  he 
explored  part  of  the  North  coast  of  Cuba,  which  he  believed  to 
lie  Northwest  and  Southeast. 

On  his  second  voyage  in  1494  he  sailed  along  the  South  coast 
of  the  same  Island  as  far  as  the  Isle  of  Pines.  Here  he  paused 
and  prepared  a  declaration,  which  he  forced  all  his  companions 
to  sign,  to  the  effect  that  Juana  (as  he  called  it)  was  a  long  penin 
sula  jutting  out  from  Asia.* 

The  Map  which  he  presented  to  the  Pope  and  to  Rene  of  Lor 
raine  about  1498,  is  now  lost,  but  it  was  no  doubt  copied  by 
Johann  Ruysch  in  his  Mapamundi  attached  to  the  Roman  edition 
of  Ptolemy  of  1508.  Much  altered,  it  was  copied  by  Hylacomilus 
as  the  Tabula  Terrae  Novae  in  the  Strasburg  Ptolemy  of  1513. 
In  this  last  Cuba  appears  twice,  the  St.  Die  geographer  having 
inserted  Isabella  between  the  Cuban  peninsula  of  Columbus  and 
Espanola,  its  insular  character  being  then  recognized.  Johann 
Schoner  on  a  globe  of  1520  has  also  a  copy  of  the  Columbus 
Map  of  1498. 

Of  the  names  attached  to  the  Cuban  peninsula  on  these  three 
sketches,  which  are  a  part  of  the  hundreds,  which  Columbus 
gave  to  points  on  the  coast, f  we  have  identified  nearly  all,  as 
names  which  were  familiar  to  the  discoverer  from  his  Mediter 
ranean  experience.  Thus  we  find  names  altered  by  copyists,  but 
which  can  be  recognized,  such  as  Fin  de  Apulia,  Cabo  del  Gato, 
Cabo  Melle,  de  Lucca,  de  Livorno,  d'  Aries,  de  Como,  de  Parma, 
d'  Alicante,  etc. 

*  Navarrete.     Coleccion  de  los  Viages,  &c.,  II,  143. 
f  See  third  voyage  of  Columbus. 


EXPLORATIONS  JN  THE  GULF  OF  MEXICO.  73 

It  soon  became  known  that  Cuba  was  an  Island,  apparently 
from  what  Peter  Martyr  says,  before  1500,  though  it  was  not 
circumnavigated  officially  until  1508,  by  order  of  Sebastian  de 
Ocampo. 

The  last  voyage  of  Columbus  in  1502,  completed  the  explora 
tion  of  the  shores  of  the  Caribbean  sea  to  Guanaja  or  Roatan  I. 
Vincente  Yanez  Pinzon  and  Juan  Diaz  de  Solis,  on  a  voyage  of 
adventure  in  1507,  sailed  along  the  East  coast  of  Yucatan  from 
the  Golfo  Dulce  to  the  Rio  de  Lagartos,  and  this  last  limit  of 
northern  exploration  in  this  quarter  is  given  on  Peter  Martyr's 
little  Map  of  the  West  Indies,  accompanying  his  first  Ocean 
Decade  of  1511.* 

In  1513  (not  1512)  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  discovered  Florida. 
Alaminos  was  his  pilot,  and  together  they  coasted  the  Atlantic 
shores  of  it,  to  near  the  mouth  of  the  present  St.  Johns  river,  in 
lat.  30^  deg.  The  fair  open  channel,  with  the  swift  current  run 
ning  through  it  from  the  South,  was  observed  by  the  pilot  and 
used  by  him,  as  will  be  seen  below. 

Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  crossed  the  Isthmus  and  discovered 
the  Mar  del  Sur  in  the  same  year  last  mentioned,  and  it  would 
seem  a  natural  supposition  to  have  at  once  sought  for  a  passage 
into  it  North  of  the  Rio  de  Lagartos,  but  this  was  not  done. 

Francisco  Hernandez  de  Cordova,  February  8th,  1517,  accom 
panied  by  the  pilot  Antonio  de  Alaminos,  who  as  a  boy  had  been 
with  Columbus,  and  to  Florida  with  De  Leon,  sailed  west  from 
Havannah  and  struck  Cape  Catoche  ;  then  coasted  west  and 
southwest  to  the  Bahia  de  Malapelea  in  Campeachy,  where  the 
natives  repulsed  him  and  he  turned  back.  He  gave  to  Yucatan 
its  present  name,  but  considered  it  an  Island.  On  his  voyage 
home  he  landed  in  Florida. 

In  1518,  Juan  de  Grijalva,  by  order  of  Diego  Velasquez,  his 
uncle,  the  first  Governor  of  Cuba,  explored  the  coast  with 
Alaminos,  beginning  with  the  Island  of  Cozumel,  and  ending 
apparently  at  Cabo  Rosso  in  lat.  21  deg.  45  min.  near  Tampico. 

He  brought  home  a  large  amount  of  gold,  and  exciting 
accounts  of  a  vast  and  rich  empire  in  the  interior  of  the  land  he 

*  See  Martyr,  Dec.  II,  Cap.  7;  Herrera,  Dec.  I,  Lib.  VI,  Cap.  17;  Docum. 
Ined,  1842,  501. 

10 


74  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

had  discovered;  and  in  the  following  year  (1519)  the  famous 
Hernando  Cortes,  burning  for  its  conquest,  with  Alaminos  again 
as  pilot,  undertook  the  expedition  which  resulted  in  the  subjuga 
tion  of  Mexico. 

The  first  vessel  despatched  to  Spain,  with  treasure,  by  Co.rtes 
from  Vera  Cruz,  July  26,  1519,  passed  into  the  Atlantic  through 
the  Florida  Channel.  Alaminos,  her  pilot,  the  discoverer  of  this 
passage,*  in  1513,  was  the  first  who  led  a  vessel  through  it  to 
Spain. 

In  the  same  yearf  Francisco  de  Garay,  Governor  of  Jamaica, 
and  the  rival  of  Cortes,  either  in  person  or  by  his  deputy  Alonzo 
Alvarez  de  Pineda,  ran  along  the  coast  to  the  Rio  de  Panuco  or 
Pal  mas,  in  lat.  23  deg.  45  min. 

In  1520  De  Garay  sent  Diego  de  Camargo  north,  in  the  gulf, 
with  three  or  four  caravels,  and  the  exploration  of  the  coast 
appears  to  have  been  begun  somewhere  about  Pensacola,  so  as  to 
very  nearly  connect  it  with  the  Florida  of  Juan  Ponce,  and  was 
carried  westward  to  Panuco,  if  the  Map  and  memoir  that  he  pre 
sented  to  the  Emperor  can  be  trusted.  (See  Navarrete  III,  147-8, 
and  Martyr  Dec.  Y,  cap.  I.) 

In  1523  De  Garay  went  in  person  to  the  Rio  Panuco,  with 
Diego  Meruelo  the  elder  as  his  pilot.  J  It  would  appear,  how 
ever,  that  De  Garay's  explorations  remained  unknown  to  Cortes, 
for  in  his  letter  to  the  Emperor  of  1523,  he  is  uncertain  whether 
Mexico  and  Florida  were  joined  together. 

The  short  unexplored  coast  line,  from  Pensacola  to  Apalachi- 
cola,  appears  not  to  have  been  traced  until  the  unfortunate 
Pamphilo  de  Narvaez  landed  on  the  coast  of  Florida  in  1527, 

*  Herrera,  Vol.  I;  Descripcion,  p.  4;  Barcia  Ensayo,  p.  154. 

f  Gomara  II,  cap.  25,  says  1518,  which  is  improbable.  Pineda  was  one 
of  the  malcontents  accompanying  Cortes  in  1518,  and  who  conspired  to 
abandon  him.  Two  of  them  were  sentenced  to  death;  the  pilot  De  Umbria 
to  have  his  feet  cut  off;  Pineda,  another  pilot,  and  his  brother  to  receive  two 
hundred  lashes,  etc.  De  Umbria  seems  to  have  remained  after  this  in  the 
service  of  Cortes,  but  Pineda  got  away  and  entered  the  service  of  De  Garay. 

^  Diego  Meruelo  had  been  sent  by  Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon  in  1520  to 
the  Rio  de  Chicora,  and,  according  to  Barcia,  lost  his  life  there  with  Ayllon 
in  1526.  His  nephew,  of  the  same  name,  went  as  stated,  with  Narvaez  to 
Apalache. 


SEBASTIAN  CABOT.  75 

and  his  pilot  Diego  Meruelo  the  younger  had  coasted  in  search 
of  him,  finding  the  land  running  East  and  West,  thus  positively 
connecting  the  above  provinces.  The  exploration  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  was  therefore  spread  over  a  period  of  twenty  years, 
while  it  might  have  been  accomplished  in  as  many  days.  * 


VI.— SEBASTIAN  CABOT. 

It  is  now  certain  that  Sebastian  Cabot  never  sailed  along  the 
coasts  of  the  United  States  South  of  Nova  Scotia.  The  English 
have  often  claimed  that  he  did  so  in  1497  or  1498,  and  upon  this 
shadowy  basis  founded  a  right  of  possession  by  discovery.  Cabot 
himself  never  published  any  statement  to  the  above  effect,  but 
his  papers,  which  Hakluyt  says  were  in  the  hands  of  a  certain 
William  Worthington,  as  late  as  1582,  are  now  lost.  Had  he 
made  such  an  exploration,  Hakluyt  would  not  have  been  satisfied 
with  the  meagre  parade  of  hearsay  reports,  on  which  he  claims 
such  discovery.  A  very  important  note  by  a  friend  of  Cabot, 
given  below,  and  published  during  his  lifetime,  is  suppressed  by 
Hakluyt,  while  he  attaches  weight  to  the  perhaps  ill  understood 
report  made  by  Cabot  to  Peter  Martyr  in  1515.f 

Had  Cabot  really  thus  visited  this  coast,  from  Newfoundland 
to  Florida,  he  would  of  course  have  been  appealed  to  as  an 
authority  by  the  Congress  of  Bajadoz  in  1524,  of  which  he  was 
a  member  when  the  question  of  searching  for  a  strait  about  there 
was  considered.  His  silence  at  that  time  is  of  itself  conclusive 
on  this  point. 

We  have  carefully  investigated  the  older  and  the  more  recently 
published  accounts  of  Cabot's  voyage  of  1497,  and  shown  that 
his  land-fall  was  Cape  North  on  Cape  Breton  Island,  that  he  got 
embayed  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  came  out  of  it  through 
the  straits  of  Belleisle,  whence  he  sailed  back  direct  to  England. J 

*  See  Oscar  Peschel's  excellent  resume  on  the  discoveries  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  Zeitalter  der  Entdeckungen  1858,  Cap.  7. 
f  Martyr  Dec,  III,  Lib.  VI. 
$  Historical  Magazine,  New  York,  March,  1868. 


76  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

Over-estimating  the  distances  sailed  inside  the  Gulf,  he  meant  to 
inform  Martyr  that  he  had  sailed  West  to  the  meridian  of  Cuba, 
and  the  good  historian  no  doubt  added  that  he  had  reached 
South  to  the  Latitude  of  the  straits  of  Gibraltar,  misunderstand 
ing  the  range  of  the  voyage.  That  Cabot  himself  did  not  claim 
to  have  sailed  so  far  South  is  also  definitely  proved  by  a  passage 
hitherto  neglected  because  unfavorable  to  the  English  claims 
in  the  preface  to  Richard  Eden's  Decades,  155o,  sig.  c.  i. 

"  These  regions  are  cauled  Terra  Florida  and  Regio  Baccalearum  or  Bac- 
cliallaos  of  the  which  you  may  reade  sumwhat  in  this  booke  in  the  vyage 
of  the  woorthy  owlde  man  yet  lyuing  Sebastiane  Cabote,  in  the  vi.  booke 
of  the  thyrde  Decade.  But  Cabote  touched  only  in  the  north  corner  and 
most  barbarous  parte  hereof,  from  whense  he  was  repulsed  with  Ise  in  the 
moneth  of  July." 

Written  under  Cabot's  own  eye,  and  perhaps  dictated  by  him 
self  in  order  to  rectify  Martyr's  misstatement  of  his  claims,  it 
would  seem  to  set  the  question  at  rest  most  completely.  Hakluyt 
in  his  passages,  gathered  after  Cabot's  death,  to  back  the  English 
claims,  omits  this  distinct  limitation  of  Cabot's  discoveries,  and 
even  Richard  Biddle,  in  1831,  does  not  seem  to  have  observed  it. 

Cabot  corresponded  with  Rarnusius,  and  perhaps  had  corrected 
the  statement  made  by  Martyr,  for  in  the  Somario  of  Martyr's 
three  first  Decades,  made  and  published  by  the  Italian  historian 
in  1534,  it  is  not  repeated.  That  Ramusius  was  aware  of  the 
real  extent  of  Cabot's  explorations  is  also  evident  from  the  Intro 
ductory  "Discorso"  to  his  third  volume  of  1556,  written  in  1553, 
while  Cabot  was  still  living,  in  which  no  mention  is  made  of  his 
explorations  South  of  New  France.  Hakluyt,  of  course,  did  not 
notice  these  omissions,  as  they  would  have  led  to  the  plain  infer 
ence  that  we  here  point  out. 

Cabot's  own  planisphere,  of  which  but  one  copy,  discovered  in 
1843  by  Yon  Martins,  is  now  known,  preserved  in  the  French 
National  Library,  shows  distinctly  his  Prima  Vista  to  be  Cape 
North,  and  he  places  no  other  name  of  his  own  on  this  coast, 
excepting  to  the  Island  of  St.  John  (Prince  Edward's  ?),  just  west 
of  the  cape  and  inside  the  Gulf. 

Verrazano  was  therefore  the  first  one  that  we  know  to  have 
sailed  along  our  coast,  and  his  name  deserves  to  be  attached  to 
some  prominent  point  of  it. 


ALONZO  DE  ZUAZO  ON  A  STRAIT  TO  THE  MOLUCCAS.     77 

VII.— ALONZO  DE  ZUAZO  ON  A  STRAIT  TO  THE 
MOLUCCAS. 

Although  the  following  passage  more  directly  belongs  to 
another  subject,  we  quote  it  to  show  how  intelligent  minds  were 
at  a  certain  period  of  time  endeavoring  to  solve  a  problem  which 
was  not  fully  answered  until  Magellan's  ship  had  circumnavigated 
the  globe.  It  has  but  recently  appeared  in  Spanish  (Doc.  Ined., 
1864,  p.  290),  copied  from  the  Archives  of  the  Indies  in  Seville. 

The  Licentiate  Alonzo  de  Zuazo,  the  legal  adviser  of  the  three 
Jeromite  friars  who  were  sent  by  the  Regent,  Cardinal  Cisneros, 
in  1516,  to  Hispaniola  to  govern  the  West  Indies,  and  who  is 
best  known  as  the  mediator  between  Cortes  and  Narvaez,  wrote 
to  the  Emperor,  January  22d,  1518: 

"  In  another  matter  there  is  a  great  mystery  [secreto].  The  concession  of 
Pope  Alexander  is  known  ;  the  partition  of  the  world  as  if  it  were  an  orange 
between  the  King  of  Portugal  and  tbe  grand  parents  of  Your  Majesty  by 
certain  imaginary  lines  which  were  not  drawn,  because  although  they  sent 
certain  pilots  to  mark  a  boundary  and  fix  those  lines  at  the  points  where 
they  ought  to  be,  as  this  was  a  division  by  longitudes,  of  which  the  pilots 
know  nothing  and  practise  nothing,  they  could  not  and  knew  not  what  to 
do  with  certainty,  and  therefore  returned  without  accomplishing  anything. 

"While  drawing  the  lines,  I  found  that  your  Majesty  was  much  wronged 
in  the  Tierras  Firmes  of  Brasil.  From  Cape  St.  Augustine  thirty  leagues  at 
best  may  belong  to  the  King  of  Portugal,  and  he  possesses  more  than  two 
hundred,  from  which  he  yearly  receives  more  than  twenty  thousand  ducats 
in  brasil  [wood]  and  slaves.  I,  to  make  sure  of  it,  sent  a  pilot  at  my  cost  to 
the  said  Cape,  and  I  found  that  its  position  on  the  Maps  was  more  than  a 
hundred  and  thirty  leagues  too  much  to  the  East.* 

"  There  is  another  mystery.  In  the  East,  Portugal  possesses  much  which 
belongs  to  Your  Majesty.  The  City  of  Malaca  itself,  which  has  25000  inhab 
itants,  belongs  to  you,  as  it  would  appear,  from  that  Mapamundi  which 
Americo  caused  to  be  printed,  who  went  to  those  parts  :  the  [same]  which 
the  Senor  Infante  f  has  in  his  chambers,  in  a  circular  form. 

*  The  good  Zuazo  deceived  himself  on  this  point.  See  "  Die  TJieilung 
der  Erde,  &c.,  by  Oscar  Peschel,  Leipzig,  1871.  Bulletin  de  Geographic, 
ind  Kohl's  text  to  Die  dltesten  general  kartell  von  Amerika,  Weimar,  18GO. 

f  The  Spanish  editors,  in  a  note,  say  that  this  must  have  been  Don  Fer 
nando,  brother  of  Charles  the  Fifth  and  afterwards  Emperor  of  Germany. 

A  printed  Map  of  the  world,  compiled  by  Americus  Vespuccius,  is  not 
now  known.  Zuazo  may  probably  have  seen  a  Map  drawn  by  hand  for 
or  by  Vespuccius. 


78  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

"That  Your  Majesty  may  not  mourn  over  this,  as  did  Alexander  to  call 
himself  master  of  other  worlds,  you  must  first  order  the  division  to  be  made: 
and  secondly  fit  out  two  small  fast  sailing  vessels  to  examine  it  all  (mean 
while  the  strait  which  I  have  heard  of  in  Tierra  Firme  may  be  verified,  and 
Diego  Alvitez,  recently  from  there,  has  said  it  was  so),  and  they  can  sail 
along  the  coast  to  the  South,*  or  reach  that  which  comes  from  the  North 
(fiacerse  en  la  Costa  del  Sur  o  llevarse  a  ella  de  la  de  Norte)  as  Vasco  Nunez 
has  been  doing." 


VIII.— HERNANDO  CORTES,  AND  HIS  PROPOSAL,  IN 
1524,  TO  SEARCH  FOR  A  STRAIT. 

The  letter,  known  as  the  fourth  carta-relacion,  sent  by  the 
Conqueror  of  Mexico  to  the  Emperor,  contains  an  interesting 
passage  relating  to  a  proposed  search  for  the  strait,  between 
Florida  and  Bacalaos.  From  the  date  of  the  letter,  October  15, 
1524,  it  appears  that  Cortes  had  heard  of  the  geographical  con 
gress  met  at  Bajadoz,  and  wished  to  please  the  Emperor  by 
causing  explorations  to  be  made  in  both  oceans  for  it.  A  good 
version  of  the  extract  may  be  found  in  Biddle's  Cabot,  Chap. 
VII,  copied  by  Conway  Robinson,  in  his  work,  "  An  account  of 
discoveries  in  the  West  until  1519,  and  of  voyages  to  and  along 
the  Atlantic  Coast  of  North  America,  from  1520  to  1573.  Rich 
mond,  1848,"  page  300.f 

We  give  below  an  abridged  version  from  the  Spanish  text  in 
Gayangos. 

"I  have  informed  you  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  letter  of  the  parties  sent 
by  sea  and  by  land,  which  I  hope  may  meet  with  success,  as  I  wish  to  serve 
your  Majesty  in  every  possible  way.  All  that  I  see  remaining  to  be  done  in 
that  way  is  to  learn  the  secret  of  the  coast  remaining  to  be  discovered, 
between  the  Rio  de  Panuco  [Lat.  23  deg.  45  min.]  and  La  Florida,:}:  which 
last  was  discovered  by  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  ;  and  thence  along  the  North- 

*  Zuazo  does  not  seem  tr)  have  heard  of  the  voyage  of  Juan  Diaz  de 
Solis  in  1516  along  the  coast  of  South  America. 

f  This  work  deserves  wider  circulation  and  notice.  Robinson  consulted 
many  original  authorities,  and  gives  an  admirable  resume  of  the  subject. 

|  Cortes  had  not  learned  of  the  explorations  of  Alonzo  de  Pineda  in  1519, 
and  of  Francisco  de  Garay  in  1520,  by  which  the  Gulf  Coast  had  been  com 
pletely  traced. 


COR  TJKS,  A  ND  HIS  PR  OP  OS  A  L  TO  SEA  R  CH  FOR  SrRA  IT.      7  9 

erly  coasts  of  said  Florida  as  far  as  the  Bacallaos.  *  It  is  certain  that  along 
those  coasts  there  is  a  strait  that  passes  through  to  the  South  Sea.  If  found, 
it  will  be  seen  that  it  comes  out  very  near  to  that  archipelago  which  Magel 
lan  discovered,!  according  to  a  certain  Map  [figure]  which  I  possess  \  of 
those  parts.  Should  a  strait  be  found  about  there,  it  would  be  of  great 
value  in  reaching  the  Spice  Islands  by  a  route  shorter  than  any  other  by  two 
thirds,  and  also  because  it  would  pass  through  lands  now  owned  by  your 
Majesty.  Although  much  in  debt  for  the  cost  of  the  expeditions  already 
sent  out,  and  for  the  expenses  of  this  Government,  I  have  resolved  to  send 
three  caravels  and  two  brigantines  out  on  this  undertaking,  but  it  will  cost 
me  over  ten  thousand  gold  pesos.  This  will  be  the  greatest  service  of  the 
kind  I  have  done,  if  as  I  say  the  strait  should  be  found,  but  even  should 
none  be  met  with,  it  must  happen  that  many  great  and  rich  lands  will  be 
discovered,  which  will  increase  your  Majesty's  possessions. 

"There  is  also  a  negative  advantage  in  case  no  strait  be  found,  in  that 
your  Majesty  can  then  determine  what  measures  will  be  best  in  regard  to 
the  use  of  the  Spice  Islands  and  lands  adjacent  to  them.  In  such  a  case  I 
offer  my  best  services,  which  will  cost  your  Majesty  but  little,  in  carrying 
out  your  orders.  Please  the  Lord,  the  strait  may  be  found,  and  I  will  do  all 
I  can  towards  that  end. 

' '  I  mean  to  send  the  vessels  on  the  South  sea  to  explore  the  coast,  simul 
taneously  with  those  in  the  North  sea.§  The  first  will  follow  the  coast  until 
they  find  the  strait  or  connect  the  shore  line  with  that  discovered  by  Magel 
lan,  and  the  last  until  they  come  to  the  Bacallaos." 

Cortes  at  this  time  conceived  Nova  Hispania  to  be  a  part  of 
Asia,  bat  by  the  year  1540  he  had  explored  the  coast  so  far 
North  as  to  make  it  nearly  certain  that  North  America  was  a 
continent  by  itself. 

Oviedo,  Lib.  xxxiii,  Cap.  xli,  Ed.  Acad.  1853,  p.  456,  remarks 
on  this  letter: 

"  I  take  Cortes  to  be  better  as  a  Captain,  and  more  versed  in  warlike  mat 
ters,  such  as  we  have  been  describing,  than  as  an  expert  cosmographer,  for 
all  what  he  says  ;  for  the  strait  of  Magellan  is  very  far  from  the  point  he 
speaks  of,  and  very  far  from  being  placed  where  Cortes,  according  to  his 

*  Neither  had  he  heard  of  Leon's  and  Ayllon's  undertaking  on  the  Atlantic 
coasts,  which  had  reached  to  about  84  deg.  N.  Lat. 

f  Probably  Magellan's  I.  de  Ladrones  (the  Marianas?)  or  the  Philippines. 
He  could  hardly  mean  the  Desventuradas. 

\  No  map  by  any  of  the  companions  of  Magellan  is  now  known.  Their 
track  was  perhaps  copied  by  Agnese,  on  Maps  described  in  this  Note. 

§  It  does  not  appear  that  Cortes  sent  out  these  last  vessels.  His  explora 
tions  in  the  Pacific,  actively  pursued,  do  not  bear  on  the  subject. 


80  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

say  or  his  Map,  which  he  says  he  has,  wishes  to  make  it,  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  about  this  now  "  [1541]. 

Oviedo  in  this  sneer  displays  much  ignorance,  for  Cortes  was 
speaking  of  an  undiscovered  strait  that  might  be  found  in  the 
North,  and  whose  Westerly  opening  might  not  be  far  from  the 
Philipines  or  Ladrones;  a  plausible  conjecture,  which  the  Map 
recently  described  by  Prof.  Peschel  explains  quite  clearly.*  This 
little  Mapamundi,  which  is  preserved  in  Munich,  seems  to  be  the 
wrork  of  Baptista  Agnese,  and  a  duplicate  of  it  from  Dresden,  is 
given  by  Dr.  Kohl  (Maine,  No.  XIV),  who  had  seen  still  another 
in  the  British  Museum  ;  this  last  one  signed  by  Agnese  and  dated 
1536.  Another  Map  from  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford,  given 
by  Dr.  Kohl  (Maine,  XV,  c),  drawn,  perhaps,  by  Agnese  also, 
shows  a  Northern  strait  between  Terra  de  los  Baccalaos  and 
Terra  de  los  Bretones,  much  as  Cortes  may  have  imagined  it  to 
be.  §  There  is  a  small  Mapamundi,  which  may  best  illustrate  the 
geographical  views  of  Cortes,  prepared  by  Gaspar  Vopellius,  and 
inserted  by  Hieronimus  Girava  in  his  Cosmographia,  which 
appeared  in  Spanish  at  Milan,  155(5,  and  again  at  Venice  in  1570. 
On  this  Map,  in  which  Nueva  Espana  is  joined  to  India  Oriental, 
the  Malucas  are  placed  on  the  Equator,  some  forty  degrees  West 
of  the  longitude  of  Mexico,  and  close  to  the  American  coast, 
which  is  made  to  run  almost  East  and  West  from  Panama  to  the 
Ganges. 


IX.— ESTEVAN  GOMEZ. 

Estevan  Gomez,  a  Portuguese  pilot,  entered  the  service  of  the 
King  of  Spain,  offering  to  discover  a  western  sea  way  to  the 
Spice  Islands,  but  Fernan  Maghalhaens  was  preferred  to  the 
command  of  the  expedition,  with  Gomez  as  his  first  officer. 
When  half  way  through  the  Strait,  Gomez,  who  had  been  made 
pilot  of  a  vessel  commanded  by  Alvaro  de  la  Mesquita,  abandoned 
the  expedition,  arrested  Mesquita  and  returned  to  Spain.  Pend 
ing  the  settlement  of  their  dispute,  the  two  were  sent  out  in 
1523  with  a  fleet  fitted  out  to  pursue  the  French  corsairs.  Later, 

*  Italienische  Weltkarte,  etc. ,  Leipzig,  1872. 


ESTEVAN  GOMEZ.  81 

Gomez  prevailed  upon  the  Emperor  to  fit  out  a  vessel  for  the 
discovery  of  a  Strait  North  of  Florida,  between  lats.  37  deg.  and 
44  deg.  He  was  detained  by  having  to  attend  the  Geographical 
Congress  of  Bajadoz,  appointed  to  determine  the  mutual  claims 
of  Spain  and  Portugal  to  the  Moluccas,  and  also,  it  is  said,  by  a 
remonstrance  against  his  enterprise  from  the  Portuguese  King, 
who  claimed  Newfoundland  as  falling  within  the  demarcation 
line  of  1515.  The  Congress  sat  from  March  1  to  May  1,  1524, 
and  perhaps  longer.  The  commission  to  Gomez  was  not  signed 
until  February  10,  1525,  and  he  probably  sailed  within  a  few 
days  after  that  date,  leaving  Corunna  with  one  vessel.  No  trust 
worthy  account  of  his  voyage  has  ever  appeared.  Spanish  authors 
treat  of  it  in  general  terms,  and  the  Tierra  de  Gomez  appears  on 
Spanish  Maps  afterwards,  but  it  is  uncertain  what  extent  of  coast 
was  explored.  It  appears  that  he  searched  it  from  Newfoundland 
to  Florida,  being  absent  ten  months,  returning  in  December, 
unsuccessful  in  the  main  object  of  his  voyage. 

A  paper  entitled  "  Ilernando  Magallanes  and  Estevan  Gomez, 
pilots  who  sought  a  Western  strait  to  India,"  was  read  June  5, 
1866,  before  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  by  the  late 
Buckingham  Smith,  which  is  briefly  reported  in  the  Historical 
Magazine,  Vol.  X,  1866,  p.  229.  Mr.  Smith  appears  to  have 
learned  that  a  full  account  of  the  voyage  was  to  be  found  in  an 
unpublished  work  by  the  geographer  Cespedes,  who  wrote  near 
the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  containing  full  details  of  it, 
but  was  unsuccessful  in  finding  it,  nor  had  Munoz  or  Navarrete 
seen  it. 

Andres  Garcia  de  Cespedes  was  the  author  of  several  geograph 
ical  or  mathematical  works,  enumerated  by  Leon  y  Pinelo  in  his 
Epitome  of  1629,  pp.  140,  148  and  184.  One  of  these  is  entitled 
Regimento  de  Navegacion  que  maudo  hazer  et  Reg.  N.  S.  por 
orden  de  su  Consejo  real  de  las  Indias.  Madrid,  1606,  folio. 
This  work  does  not  contain  the  full  voyage  of  Gomez.  Another 
one,  perhaps  containing  it,  is  his  " Isolario  general"  in  manu 
script,  present  owner  unknown. 
11 


82  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

X.— IDENTIFICATION  OF  JUAN  FLORIN  AS  GIOVANNI 
DI  VERRAZANO. 

In  the  Spanish  accounts  of  his  exploits  as  a  corsair,  he  is  always 
called  Juan  Florin  or  Florentin.  Peter  Martyr  first  mentions 
him  as  Florin,  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  his  eighth  Decade,  written 
1525,  but  first  printed  in  1530.  Though  mention  is  often  made 
of  the  French  pirates,  from  the  eighth  chapter  of  the  fifth 
Decade  (written  in  1521),  to  the  end  of  the  work,  and  especial 
stress  is  laid  (Dec.  VIII,  cap.  IX)  on  the  safe  arrival  of  the 
treasure  ships  at  the  end  of  July,  1525,  guarded  by  the  fleet  sent 
out  to  convoy  them,  he  omits  any  allusion  to  the  capture  of  Juan 
Florin.  Such  a  matter  would  hardly  have  escaped  his  notice,  nor 
does  he  mention  it  in  his  letters. 

These  letters  were  first  printed  in  1530.  The  first  notice  of  the 
leader  of  the  pirates  by  name,  is  in  one  dated  November  19,  1522, 
where  he  is  simply  called  Florinus,  a  French  pirate.  In  June, 
1523,  he  speaks  of  Joannis  Florini,  the  French  pirate,  and  he  is 
last  mentioned  by  name  in  August,  1524,  though  the  French 
pirates  are  spoken  of  later  in  the  year. 

All  that  can  be  negatively  inferred  concerning  the  capture  of 
Florin,  from  Peter  Martyr,  is  that  in  this  last  letter  of  November 
1 8th  his  name  does  not  appear. 

Ramusius  does  not  appear  to  have  seen  the  full  edition  of  the 
Decades,  of  1530,  nor  the  letters  either,  for  in  the  Italian  Somario 
of  1534,  which,  as  Mons.  Davesac*  has  recently  shown,  was  pre 
pared  by  him,  he  had  only  the  three  first  Decades  (as  published 
in  1516  in  Spain,  in  Basle  in  1533,  and  Cologne  1574)  before  him. 
Nor  does  Ramusius  appear  ever  to  have  seen  these  last  five 
Decades.  Had  he  seen  them,  he  would  perhaps  have  recognized 
Verrazano  under  the  names  which  Peter  Martyr  uses,  when  speak 
ing  of  him.  The  full  editions  of  Martyr's  Decades  and  Letters 
do  not  seem  to  have  left  Spain  for  many  years,  and  were  perhaps 
jealously  guarded  from  general  circulation  for  more  than  fifty 
years,  since  in  1574  but  three  Decades  were  reprinted,  and  not 
till  Hakluyt  published  at  Paris  in  1587,  the  whole  eight,  do  they 
seem  to  have  been  quoted  by  authors  generally. 

*  Daveeac.    Bull,  de  Gtog. ,  July,  1872,  p.  10,  note. 


DECADES  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD.  83 

Oviedo  does  not,  but  Gomara  does  name  Florin,  and  as  a 
pirate  his  name  does  not  appear  in  any  published  Spanish  or 
other  work  until  Herrera  (Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  IV,  cap.  XX),  in  1601, 
speaks  of  him  as  Florin  de  la  Hochela,  captain  of  six  armed  ves 
sels.  In  the  same  Decade  (Lib.  VI,  cap.  IX),  he  gives  the  voyage 
of  Juan  Verra£ano  Florentin,  from  Ramusius,  without  a  suspicion 
that  these  names  belonged  to  one  person. 

The  next  printed  reference  to  him  as  a  corsair,  is  in  Bernal 
Diaz  del  Castillo,  whose  narrative  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico, 
written  in  1568,  was  not  printed  until  1632.  He  calls  him  Juan 
Florin  and  Florentin^  a  French  corsair,  and  gives  the  first  pub 
lished  account  of  his  capture  and  execution. 

De  Barcia,  in  his  Ensayo  Cronologico  de  Florida,  1723,  was 
the  first  to  identify  the  corsair  with  the  discoverer.  He  calls  him 
Juan  Verrazano  Florentin,  Corsario  de  Francia,  and  gives  a  very 
brief  notice  of  his  exploring  voyage,  from  Ramusius,  and  of  his 
exploits  under  the  name  of  Juan  Florentin,  alludes  to  the  report 
of  his  death  in  America,  and  then  gives  the  story  of  his  capture 
and  execution,  apparently  from  Bernal  Diaz. 

Thus  two  centuries  had  elapsed  before  this  identification  was 
made,  during  all  which  period  no  one  had  even  suspected  it. 
The  heading  of  his  own  letter,  first  published  in  1556,  might 
have  awakened  a  surmise  to  this  effect,  and  possibly  the  Spanish 
Government  knew  the  truth,  but  it  is  curious  that  the  fact  should 
have  been  so  slow  in  finding  its  way  into  print. 


XL— DECADES  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD,  BY  PETER 
MARTYR. 

Translated  Extracts  from  the  Decades  of  Peter  Martyr  concerning  French  pirates. 

Dec.  V,  Cap.  8  [1532  ;  and  written  about  the  same  time  as  his 
letter  of  November  19].  "  Of  these  two"  [hidalgos  who  had  served 
under  Cortes],  "  Benavides,  leaving  his  companions,  returned 
recently  in  one  of  the  two  ships  sent  by  Cortes.  In  them  gifts 
are  brought,  which  are  said  to  be  far  more  precious  and  beautiful 
than  those  which  came  in  the  year  when  his  Majesty  went  to 
Belgium,  and  seen  by  your  Reverence.  They  estimate  these 


84  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

treasures  to  be  worth  about  two  hundred  thousand  ducats,  but 
these  ships  have  not  yet  reached  us.  They  have  stopped  at  the 
Cassiterides,  called  the  Azore  Islands  by  the  Portuguese,  the 
sovereigns  thereof,  to  avoid  falling  into  the  hands  of  French 
pirates,  as  happened  to  one  coming  last  year  from  Plispaniola 
and  Cuba  loaded  with  Gold  of  the  weight  of  Seventy-two  thou 
sand  ducats,  of  precious  pearls  six  hundred  eight  ounce  pounds, 
and  two  thousand  arrobas  of  sugar.  The  Spanish  arroba  con 
tains  twenty-five  six  ounce  pounds.  Many  brought  individually 
much  besides,  all  which  became  the  booty  of  the  pirates.  An 
armed  fleet  has  been  sent,  which  is  to  bring  these  two  safely  from 
the  Azores.  These  ships  bring,  as  Benavides  reports,  three  tigers. 

Two  gentlemen,  captains  in  the  wars  in  those  countries,  remain 
in  charge  of  these  ships,  Alfonso  de  Avila  and  Antonio  Quig- 
nones,  carrying  the  gift  to  the  King  from  the  people,  but  the 
share  of  Cortes  is  entrusted  to  Juan  Ribera,  private  Secretary  of 
Cortes,  and  his  companion  in  all  his  labors  from  the  beginning. 
News  has  recently  been  brought  that  fifteen  ships  of  the  French 
pirates  were  seen  cruising  on  the  Ocean,  expecting  to  lay  hands 
upon  these  ships  as  they  did  with  the  other,  but  that  they  were 
driven  by  storms  on  the  Coast  of  Africa,  and  that  many  of  them 
were  drowned." 

Cap.  X  (1522).,  "...  .but  there  is  a  rumor  of  uncertain  origin, 
that  the  French  pirates  have  already  got  scent  of  those  ships  ; 
may  God  bring  it  out  aright." 

Dec.  VI,  Cap.  X  (1524).  "The  troubles  of  these  times,  due  to 
the  various  pirates  and  the  hostilities  with  the  French  King,  have 
put  a  stop  to  our  communications  both  by  land  and  by  sea." 

Dec.  VII,  Cap.  IV  (1524).  "They  say  that  Cortes  has  300,000 

pesos  ready  to  send  to  Caesar but  learning  of  the  capture  of 

so  many  laden  ships  by  the  French  pirates,  hardly  ventures  to 
despatch  these.  Thus,  while  in  our  Council  of  the  Indies,  coun 
sel  was  being  held  on  the  measures  to  be  taken  for  the  safety  of 
these  ships,  it  was  resolved,  and  provided  by  Caesar  upon  our 
petition,*  and  ordered  that  they  should  gather,  as  fast  as  each 
one  was  laden,  at  Hispaniola  as  a  rendezvous.  The  ships  being 
gathered  from  all  those  lands,  a  strong  fleet  would  thus  be  formed, 

*  See  Cortes  de  Valladolid. 


DECADES  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD.  85 

which  would  be  safe  from  the  attack  of  pirates  if  they  had  to 
defend  themselves.  What  fate  is  to  befall  the  armament  is  to  be 
determined  by  Divine  Providence." 

Cap.  V  (1524).  "  While  I  am  writing  of  these  things,  word  is 
brought  that  four  ships  from  the  Indies  have  arrived  on  our 
Spanish  coasts.  What  treasures  they  bring  we  have  not  heard." 

Dec.  VIII,  Cap.  IV  (1525).  "They  say  that  Cortes  is  still  deplor 
ing  the  loss  of  those  great  treasures,  captured  by  the  French 
pirates  about  three  [two  ?]  years  ago,  which  he  was  sending  to 
C«3sar.  But  what  shall  we  say  concerning  the  gems  and  precious 
stones  ?  Passing  over  the  rest,  there  was  a  pyramidal  emerald, 
whose  base  was  nearly  as  broad  as  the  palm  of  a  man's  hand.  It 
was  told  to  us  in  the  Council  and  to  Caesar  that  such  an  one  had 
never  seen  by  human  eye  before.  It  is  said  that  the  French 
Admiral  purchased  it  at  an  incredible  price  from  the  captor  of 
this  booty.  But  they  treat  Alfonso  de  Avila  with  inhumanity. 
He  is  a  young  man  of  noble  family,  but  not  rich.  They  keep 
him  a  prisoner  in  a  foul  dungeon,  upon  the  sole  pretext  that  to 
him  were  entrusted  this  jewel  and  the  other  treasures.  They 
think  that  they  can  exact  from  him  twenty  thousand  ducats  if 
he  wishes  to  ransom  himself." 

Cap.  VI.  "  Cortes,  by  reason  that  the  French  pirate  named 
Florinus,  took  his  fleet  with  many  precious  things,  which  he  and 
the  other  officers  in  New  Spain,  partners  in  his  conquests,  were 
sending  to  Cresar,  has  from  grief  over  so  great  a  loss,  sent  no 
letters  either  to  Ca3sar  or  to  our  Council.  He  has  thus  allowed 
a  suspicion  to  arise  from  this  and  from  the  sayings  of  many  who 
frequently  return  from  those  Kingdoms,  of  a  defection  from 
Csesar." 

Dec.  VIII,  Cap.  IX  [writing  about  a  large  fleet  bound  to  the 
West  Indies,  on  which  there  went  a  retainer  of  his,  Juan  Mende- 
guren,  he  says,  November,  1525],  "From  him  I  have  received 
letters  from  Gomera,  one  of  the  Fortunate  Islands,  where  all 
vessels  crossing  the  Ocean  stop  for  refreshments.  He  writes  that 
they  had  got  thus  far  prospering,  in  the  space  of  ten  days,  and 
that  fast  ships  could  do  it  in  less,  but  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
convoy  to  wait  for  the  slow  sailers,  lest  they  should  fall  into  the 
jaws  of  the  French  pirates,  who  watched  them  for  some  time 


86  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

under  sail,  that  they  might  fall  upon  the  laggards.  I  do  not 
remember  whether  I  have  said  or  not,  that  two  ships  sent  by 
Fernando  Cortes  from  New  Spain,  the  latest  new  lands  known  to 
us,  had  arrived  at  the  Azores.  I  will  tell  you  how  it  was  arranged 
that  they  should  not  fall  into  the  wide  spread  jaws  of  the  pirates, 
who  had  long  waited  for  them  cruising  around,  and  how  they 
avoided  them  and  what  they  bring.  One  of  them,  having  dis 
charged  her  cargo,  determined  to  try  her  luck,  and  by  the  help 
of  Providence,  did  not  fall  among  the  robbers,  escaping  safely. 
This  news  being  heard,  a  fleet  of  six  ships  was  hastily  prepared, 
of  which  four  are  two  hundred  tons  burthen,  and  also  two  cara 
vels  completely  equipped  for  fighting,  in  case  they  met  with 
pirates.  The  King  of  Portugal  added  four  others,  good  sailers 
and  well  furnished  with  all  kinds  of  guns.  They  sailed  on  the 
25th  of  June,  took  in  the  cargoes  left  behind,  and  returned  safely 
about  the  end  of  July.  Thanks  were  offered  to  God  in  Seville. 
We  expect  the  chief  captains  every  day.  There  were  only  two 
small  ships  from  Cortes.  They  ascribe  the  little  treasure  in  the 
ships  to  the  poverty  of  those  regions.  They  bring  to  Caesar  only 
seventy  thousand  gold  pesos."  [He  gives  the  reasons  for  ordering 
the  spice  laden  vessels  from  the  East  Indies  to  start  and  to  land 
at  Corunna,  among  which  is  the  fear  of  pirates  along  the  South 
ern  coasts,  for,  as  he  says],  "  there  are  in  those  shores  between  the 
high  mountains  many  desert  valleys,  which  are  not  much  peopled 
on  account  of  their  sterility.  These  are  the  hiding  places  of 
pirates,  who  signalled  by  their  men  watching  on  the  top  of  the 
mountains,  attack  the  passing  ships.  On  this  account  it  was 
ordered  that  business  should  be  carried  on  there  "  (at  Corunna). 

This  Chapter  is  dated  November  19th,  1525. 

Martyr  completed  one  more  Chapter  of  this  eighth  Decade 
and  died  in  October,  1526.  There  is  some  confusion  in  his 
accounts  as  given  in  the  Decades,  and  they  must  be  compared 
with  his  Letters  in  order  to  understand  them.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  in  the  Decades  he  only  names  Florinus  once  and  that  he 
says  nothing  about  his  capture. 


LETTERS  OF  PETER  MARTYR.  87 

XII.— LETTERS  OF  PETER  MARTYR. 

The  letters  of  Peter  Martyr  cover  a  most  interesting  period  of 
European  history,  namely,  from  1488  to  1525.  They  are  full  of 
details  which  can  be  found  nowhere  else,  and  abound  with  gossip 
of  nil  kinds.  He  wrote  them  in  fluent  but  not  very  classic  Latin, 
to  persons  in  Italy  or  Spain,  and  often  in  haste,  as  he  himself 
admits.  We  find  in  them  many  passages  concerning  the  New 
World,  taking,  as  he  did,  a  vivid  interest  in  the  progressive  dis 
coveries  made  there.  As  a  member  of  the  Council  of  the  Indies 
and  as  an  attache'  to  the  royal  court  he  had  opportunities  of 
learning  all  that  was  happening  there.  He  gathered  these  details 
into  Decades,  the  first  one,  written  before  1500,  being  published 
in  1511,  two  others  appearing  in  1516,  and  the  whole  eight  in 
1530,  after  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1526. 

The  letters,  812  in  number,  were  first  published  at  Alcala  in 
1530,  and  again  at  Paris  in  1670,  but  have  not  been  translated. 

In  Ep.  634  (Paris  Ed.),  dated  January  30th,  1519,  he  mentions 
treasures  expected  to  arrive  from  islands  near  the  Continent. 
This  was  the  consignment  of  gold  collected  by  Juan  de  Grijalva 
during  his  expedition  to  Yucatan  and  the  lower  Mexican  coast  in 
1518.  This  was  forwarded  by  Velasquez,  Governor  of  Cuba,  and 
got  safely  in  to  Seville. 

In  Ep.  650  (Paris  Ed.),  dated  December  2d,  1519,  he  announces 
the  arrival  of  the  first  treasure  sent  by  Cortes. 

In  Ep.  686  (Paris  Ed.),  dated  September  13th,  1520,  he  says 
that  all  Gold  from  the  Indies  must  pass  through  the  Casa  de 
Contratacion,  and  in  Ep.  715  (same  ed.),  of  March  6th,  1521,  he 
alludes  to  treasure  expected,  as  he  says,  from  the  lands  West  of 
Cuba.  Verrazano,  a  few  weeks  after  this  last  date,  took  one  or 
two  vessels  from  the  Indies  according  to  Herrera,  but  they  were 
not  sent  by  Cortes. 

The  next  four  letters  are  full  of  details  concerning  the  pirates 
and  their  captures. 

Epist.  774  (Ed.  1530),  771  (Ed.  1670). 

Valladolid,  November  19,  1522. 

"  These  vessels  from  Fcrnand  Cortes  the  conqueror  of  the 
Yucatan  and  other  newest  lands,  have  arrived  at  the  Cassi- 


88  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

terides,  Portuguese  Islands,  commonly  called  the  Azores.  Con 
cerning  the  treasures  thereof,  but  particularly  the  ornaments  and 
vestments  consecrated  to  their  deities,  and  how  far  they  differ 
from  those  sent  by  the  same,  and  which  you  saw  in  Valladolid, 
they  speak  with  great  animation  and  say  that  those  brought  in 
one  of  the  three  ships  exceed  the  former  greatly  in  beauty  and 
value. 

The  other  two  vessels,  however,  fearing  the  French  corsairs, 
have  remained  at  the  said  islands.  They  pretend  to  say  that  car 
goes  to  the  value  of  eight  hundred  thousand  ducats  are  brought 
in  them.  There  they  will  stay,  consequently,  until  another  fleet, 
which  has  been  ordered  to  be  fitted  out,  can  be  sent  from  Seville 
to  convoy  them,  for  we  have  been  taught  by  a  very  bitter  exam 
ple,  which  ought  to  make  us  more  vigilant,  unless  fortune  blinds 
us. 

For  last  year  one  Florin,  a  French  pirate,  captured  a  ship 
coming  from  Hispaniola  with  gold  to  the  amount  of  eighty  thou 
sand  ducats,  six  hundred  eight  ounce  pounds  of  pearls  and  two 
thousand  arrobas  of  sugar.  As  Commander  of  these  three  ves 
sels  came  Juan  Ribera,  as  private  envoy  of  Fernan  Cortes,  who 
in  the  name  of  his  Master,  Fernan  Cortes,  is  to  present  half  of 
those  gifts  to  Ca3sar,  and  the  other  half  is  to  be  offered  by  the 
two  representatives  of  the  magistrates  and  soldiers  of  those  lands 
in  their  name  to  Ca3sar.  These  two  are  still  with  the  ships. 

Juan  Ribera  resolved  to  tempt  fortune  with  one  of  the  ships 
and  came  in.  What  he  brought  you  shall  learn  elsewhere.  He 
has  not  yet  landed  the  cases  he  brought,  which,  however,  are  all 
his  own,  nothing  for  the  King  himself. 

In  the  three  ships  they  brought  over  three  tigers,  reared  from 
whelps,  each  in  his  cage.  By  the  violence  of  the  storms,  one  of 
the  cages  was  opened  a  little  one  night.  By  great  exertion  the 
tiger  burst  the  planks  asunder  and  attacked  the  men  as  fiercely 
as  if  it  had  never  seen  one.  Five  of  those  it  met  were  badly 
wounded  (each)  by  one  blow.  Their  comrades,  roused  by  the 
noise,  disabled  the  quadruped  with  spears  and  drove  it  into  the 
sea.  To  avoid  the  same  happening  again  they  shot  the  second 
one  in  its  cage  with  darts.  So  they  only  bring  one,  which  God 
grant  may,  with  the  other  things,  escape  the  jaws  of  the  pirates, 
for  they  have  become  so  greatly  allured  by  that  booty,  by  means 


LETTERS  OF  PETER  MARTYR.  89 

of  which  they  have  gathered  fresh  strength,  that  we  can  no  longer 
safely  navigate  our  ocean." 

Epistle  782  (Ed.  1530),  779  (Ed.  1670). 

Valladolid,  June  11,  1523. 

"This  very  day  more  bad  news  is  brought.  I  have  already 
written  about  three  ships  which  Fernan  Cortes  sent  with  immense 
treasures  from  the  most  remote  lands,  two  of  which  for  fear  of 
pirates  stayed  at  the  Cassiterides,  the  Azore  islands,  until  a  new 
fleet  could  be  sent  to  convoy  them.  A  little  fleet  of  three  cara 
vels  was  sent  for  their  protection,  but  in  vain.  The  larger  vessel 
laden  with  those  precious  things,  attacked  by  two  ships,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  John  Florin,  the  French  pirate.  The  other  ship 
escaped,  with  only  one  of  the  twelve  large  cases,  and  one  of  the 
tigers  of  which  I  have  already  spoken.  These  few  thus  escaped, 
immensely  excel  in  richness  and  elegance  of  the  dresses,  the  gifts 
seen  by  you,  before  the  Emperor's  departure  from  Valladolid  to 
Galicia  on  his  way  to  the  Low  Countries.  And  no  wonder. 
Those  came  from  tribes  in  the  provinces,  these  were  brought  from 
the  treasury  of  that  great  King  Muteczuma,  and  the  other  gran 
dees  of  his  court  and  their  famous  temples.  Those  who  had 
handled  the  articles  aver  that  those  lost  by  this  mischance  exceed 
in  value  600,000  ducats.  There  was  a  large  quantity  of  gold  dust, 
and  the  robes  dedicated  to  their  Gods  were  richly  trimmed  with 
gold.  I  took  the  Venetian  Ambassador*  and  several  nobles  to 
see  them  at  the  house  of  those  who  are  taking  care  of  this  box, 
until  it  is  presented  to  Caesar.  These  enable  us  to  judge  of  what 
was  loet.  They  admired  the  beauty  and  richness,  the  designs 
wrought  with  wondrous  skill,  and  figures  intermingled  with  all 
kinds  of  flowers,  plants,  animals,  snares  and  birds.  They  are  a 
strong  proof  that  these  people  are  polished,  of  acute  minds  and 
industrious." 

Ep.  804,  Ed.  1530. 

Ep.  800,  Ed.  1670. 

Valladolid,  August  3d,  1524. 

"  To  turn  to  other  matters ;  a  courier  of  the  King  of  Portugal 
comes  hither  with  the  complaint,  that  Florinus  the  French  pirate 
had  captured  a  ship  of  his  King,  coming  from  the  Indies,  in 


*  See  Contarim. 
12 


00  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

which  the  freight  they  brought  was  taken,  amounting  to  a  sum 
of  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  ducats  of  gums  and  spices." 

Ep.  806,  Ed.  1530. 

Ep.  802,  Ed.  1670. 

Valladolid,  November  18th,  1524. 

"  The  sea  is  also  hostile  to  us.  Of  the  many  carracks  wrecked 
and  damaged  by  storms  you  know  most  fully,  for  they  were  all 
Italian.  Jacob  de  Veer,  distinguished  in  Spain  in  your  day, 
built  one. 

This  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French  pirate,  with  a  thousand 
five  hundred  bags  of  Spanish  wool,  and  with  other  things  which 
were  going  to  the  fairs  of  Belgium  and  Antwerp,  amounting  in 
value  to  seventy  thousand  ducats. 


XIIL— CONTARINI  ON  THE  FRENCH  CORSAIRS. 

The  Venetian  envoy  in  Spain,  at  this  time,  was  the  well-known 
Gaspar  Contarini,  and  we  find  several  allusions  in  his  despatches 
home  to  the  captures  by  the  French  corsairs.  These  papers  are 
now  in  the  Marciana  (library)  in  Venice,  bequeathed  to  it  by  one 
of  his  descendants,  in  1843.  Mr.  Rawdon  Brown,  the  able 
editor  of  several  volumes  of  Calendars  of  Venetian  State  papers, 
relating  to  English  affairs,  pointed  out  these  letters  to  Mr.  Henri 
Harrisse,  author  of  the  Biblioteca  Americana  Vetustissima,  1866, 
and  of  other  works  showing  great  research.  We  give  such 
extracts  from  them  as  bear  upon  the  treasure  of  Cortes,  from  his 
Supplement  to  the  work  just  mentioned,  Paris,  1872. 

The  first  extract,  not  dated,  speaks  of  the  new  empire  dis 
covered  by  Cortes. 

The  second,  from  Carte  27,  dated  November  18,  1522  (one  day 
previous  to  a  similar  one  of  Martyr's,  both  written  after  the 
arrival  of  Juan  de  Ribera),  mentions  the  treasure,  but  says 
nothing  about  corsairs. 

The  third  extract,  from  Carte  29,  dated  June  7,  1523, 
announces  the  capture  of  two  out  of  three  treasure-vessels  by 
French  vessels,  and  the  escape  of  the  third.  He  then  adds: 
"His  Majesty,  here,  has  written  to  all  his  ports  that  as  many  as 


HERRERA'S  DECADES.  91 

possible  should  go  out  and  pursue  the  said  French  vessels,  and 
desires  that  half  of  the  gold  and  vestments  which  may  be  recap 
tured  should  remain  to  them;  for  they  hold  that  these  French 
vessels  cannot  have  yet  reached  a  place  of  safety." 

The  other  extracts  are  not  dated,  and  speak  of  still  richer  trea 
sures  expected,  etc. 


XIV.— HERRERA'S  DECADES. 

Decade  III,  Lib.  IV,  Cap.  XX,  1523.  Alonzo  Davila, 
Antonio  de  Quinones,  Diego  de  Ordaz  and  Alonzo  de  Mendoza 
were  waiting  at  Santa  Maria,  in  the  Azores,  to  be  sent  for,  and, 
becoming  tired  of  waiting,  Diego  de  Ordaz  resolved  to  come  on 
with  other  passengers,  in  a  Portuguese  ship,  and  landed  in  Lis 
bon.  Capt.  Domingo  Alonzo  left  the  vessels  bound  to  the  Indies, 
that  he  was  convoying,  at  the  Canaries,  and  went  to  the  Azores 
with  his  three  caravels.  Coming  back  to  Spain  with  Davila, 
Quinones  and  their  fellow  passengers,  with  the  gold  and  things 
they  were  in  charge  of,  at  ten  leagues  from  Cape  Saint  Vincent, 
six  armed  French  vessels  came  out  against  them,*  whose  captain 
was  Florin  of  Rochelle.  Of  the  three  Spanish  caravels,  one  took 
to  flight,  two  prepared  for  battle,  and,  although  they  fought 
bravely,  were  captured.  Antonio  de  Quinones  was  killed,  and 
Alonzo  Davila  was  carried  to  La  Roc'helle,  whence  those  vessels 
came,  and  was  a  prisoner  there  for  three  years.  Almost  all  the 
treasure  was  lost,  which  Cortez  was  sending  to  the  King,  not 
only  as  a  present,  but  also  his  fifth,  and  a  vessel,  which  was 
coming  from  Espanola,  with  sixty-two  thousand  ducats,  six  hun 
dred  marks  of  pearls,  and  two  thousand  arrobas  of  sugar. 

Cap.  XXI.  The  Emperor  felt  deeply  the  loss  of  the  two  cara 
vels  which  the  French  captured,  and  of  the  ship,  and  with  so 
much  the  more  care  he  ordered  that  care  should  be  had  to  protect 
the  Armada  by  a  fleet  fitted  out  by  expending  the  custom  duties 
(averias). 

Lib.  VII,  Cap.  IV.  (The  Emperor)  sent  instructions  to  all  the 
Governors  of  the  Islands  and  Tierra  Firme  to  assure  the  safety 

*This  is  probably  an  exaggeration;  Florin  had,  probably,  four  only. 


92  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

of  the  inward  and  outward  voyage,  and  directing  them  what 
course  to  follow  to  avoid  the  corsairs. 

Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  X,  Cap.  XI,  1526.  And  as  the  French  were 
still  continuing  to  cruise  (as  corsairs),  it  was  ordered  that  all 
vessels  from  the  Indies  should  be  well  armed,  and  that  they 
should  gather  at  the  Island  of  Hispaniola,  and  should  sail  together 
for  mutual  protection,  for  it  was  reported  that  the  corsairs  had 
captured  a  ship  and  taken  from  it  the  pilot  and  compass  [chart  ?] 
in  order  to  learn  the  navigation  and  help  to  look  for  the  ships  of 
the  Indies,  where  they  might  be  taken  with  greater  safety  to 
themselves. 

The  same  arrangement  was  made  for  vessels  sailing  to  the 
Indies,  and  that  a  Captain-General  should  have  authority  over 
the  fleet,  who,  with  experienced  pilots,  might  save  much  loss, 
punish  the  mutineers,  and  repress  the  bad  practice  of  the  crews, 
who  maltreated  passengers  and  committed  offences  in  the  places 
where  they  stopped. 

Revised  maps  were  to  be  prepared  under  the  supervision  of 
Hernando  Colon,  etc. 

A  magazine  of  artillery  and  ammunition  was  also  ordered  to 
be  established  in  Seville  for  arming  the  India-bound  vesels. 


XV.— BERN AL  DIAZ  DEL  CASTILLO. 

Cap.  CLIX  (CLXIX),  fols.  163  and  164.  Let  us  leave  the 
letters  and  speak  of  the  good  voyage  which  our  Procuradores 
pursued  after  they  started  from  the  port  of  Vera  Cruz,  which 
was  on  the  twentieth  day  of  the  month  of  December  [  ?  ],  one 
thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-two,*  and  they  happily 
passed  through  the  channel  of  Bahama,  f  and,  on  the  way,  two 
of  the  tigers  out  of  the  three  which  they  carried  escaped  and 
wounded  some  sailors,  and  they  determined  to  kill  the  remaining 

*  This  date  appears  only  in  Bernal  Diaz,  and  is  certainly  erroneous. 

f  The  vessels  were  piloted  by  Anton  de  Alaminos,  the  discoverer  of  this 
channel,  who  accompanied  Cortes  to  Mexico,  and  took  his  first  vessel  to 
Spain  by  this  route.  See  B.  Diaz,  Cap.  LIU;  also  note,  Gulf  of  Mexico,  to 
this  paper. 


BERNAL  DIAZ  DEL  CASTILLO.  93 

one,  because  he  was  very  wild  and  they  could  not  manage  him,  * 
and  continued  their  voyage  to  the  island  called  la  Tercera;  and 
as  Antonio  de  Quinones  was  captain,  and  considered  himself 
valiant  and  in  love,  it  appeared  that  he  was  returning  to  that 
island  with  a  woman,  and  a  quarrel  arose  about  her,  and  they 
gave  him  a  sword  cut  on  the  head,  of  which  he  died  after  some 
days,  and  Alonzo  de  Avila  remained  sole  commander;  and  while 
Alonzo  de  Avila  was  steering,  with  the  two  ships,  towards  Spain,  f 
not  far  from  the  island,  Juan  Florin,  a  French  corsair,  fought 
with  them,  and  he  took  all  the  gold  and  ships,  and  Alonzo  de 
Avila,  and  took  the  prize  to  France.  And,  in  the  same  manner, 
Juan  Florentin  pillaged  another  ship  coming  from  the  Island  of 
St.  Domingo,  and  took  from  it  twenty  thousand  pesos  of  gold 
and  a  great  quantity  of  pearls  and  sugar  and  ox  hides,  and,  with 
all  this,  he  returned  to  France  very  rich,  and  made  great  presents 
to  his  King,  and  to  the  Admiral  of  France,  of  the  articles  and 
pieces  of  gold  which  we  brought  from  New  Spain,  so  that  all 
France  was  marvelling  at  the  riches  which  we  sent  to  our  great 
Emperor,  and  the  desire  took  the  said  King  of  France  also  to  own 
a  part  of  the  Islands  of  New  Spain,  and  he  said,  at  the  time,  that 
with  the  gold  only  that  was  going  to  our  Ca3sar  from  those  lands 
he  could  wage  war  with  his  France,  and  although  at  that  time 
Peru  was  not  known  or  conquered,  but,  as  I  said,  he  only  had 
that  from  New  Spain,  and  the  Islands  of  St.  Domingo  and  St. 
Juan  and  Cuba  and  Jamaica,  and  it  is  told  that  afterwards  the 
King  of  France  said,  or  sent  a  message,  to  our  great  Emperor 
that  as  he  and  the  King  of  Portugal  had  divided  the  world 
without  giving  him  a  portion  of  it,  that  they  should  show  to  him 
the  testament  of  father  Adam,  whether  they  were  named  as  his 
sole  heirs,  and  lords  of  those  lands  which  they  had  taken  between 
the  two  without  giving  him  any  of  them,  and  that  for  that 

*  Herrera,  Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  Ill,  Cap.  I,  says  there  were  two,  and  that  the 
one  which  escaped  wounded  eight  men  and  killed  two.  These  animals  were 
American  jaguars. 

f  Bernal  Diaz  is  the  only  authority  for  this  scandalous  tale,  which  may  be 
only  soldiers'  gossip.  Herrera,  better  informed,  says  Quinones  was  killed  in 
the  action  with  the  corsairs.  Diaz  omits  all  reference  to  Juan  de  Ribera,  the 
secretary  of  Cortes,  who,  according  to  Peter  Martyr,  was  the  chief  of  the 
deputation. 


94  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

reason  it  was  lawful  to  rob  and  take  all  that  he  could  on  the  sea; 
and  forthwith  he  ordered  Juan  Florin  that  he  should  return  with 
another  fleet  to  seek  his  living  by  the  sea;  and  on  that  voyage 
which  he  undertook,  and  on  which  he  made  another  great  prize 
of  all  cargoes  between  Castile  and  Canary  Islands,  he  met  with 
three  or  four  strong  ships  manned  by  Biscayans,  and  some  of 
them  attacking  him  on  one  side  and  the  rest  on  the  other,  they 
fought  with  Juan  Florin  and  destroyed  and  disabled  him,  and 
captured  him  and  many  other  Frenchmen,  and  took  their  ships 
and  clothing,  and  carried  Juan  Florin  and  other  captains  prison 
ers  to  Seville  to  the  Casa  de  Contratacion,  and  despatched  them 
prisoners  to  his  Majesty;  and  after  he  knew  it,  he  ordered  that, 
on  the  way,  they  should  be  executed,  and  in  the  Puerto  del  Pico 
they  were  hung,  and  thus  made  our  gold  safe,  together  with  the 
captains  who  carried  it,  and  Juan  Florin  who  took  it.  Now  let 
us  return  to  our  story,  which  is  that  they  took  Alonzo  de  Avila 
prisoner,  and  they  put  him  into  a  fortress,  believing  that  they 
would  get  a  great  ransom,  because  he  carried  so  much  gold  in  his 
charge — guarding  it  well — and  Alonzo  de  Avila,  &c.,  &c. 


XVL— OVIEDO  ON  THE  CAPTURE  OF  1523. 

Lib.  XXXIII,  Cap.  XLI,  Ed.  Acad.  Madrid,  1853,  Vol.  3, 
p.  467-8. 

This  historian  does  not  name  Florin,  although  he  mentions  the 
loss  of  the  vessels.  After  speaking  of  the  despatch  of  the  trea 
sure  and  curiosities,  he  adds  : 

' '  They  were  taken  at  sea  by  French  corsairs,  and  many  who  I  have  heard 
speak  of  this,  and  who  saw  those  things,  estimated  their  value  at  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  ducats  of  gold,  and  that  of  the  money  which 
they  took  besides,  or  rather  the  gold  and  silver,  at  as  much  more.  And 
although  he  [Cortes]  regretted  what  had  happened,  he  said  that  on  the  other 
hand  he  was  pleased  that  they  had  taken  them,  because  they  would  not  be 
missed  by  His  Majesty,  as  he  would  labor  to  send  others  much  richer  and 
more  curious,  according  to  the  news  received  from  certain  provinces,  which 
he  had  then  sent  to  conquer.  And  that  he  was  also  satisfied  with  such  a 
loss,  because  the  French  and  other  nations  to  whom  these  things  became 
known,  would  know  that  besides  the  great  and  extensive  kingdoms  and 


GOMARA  ON  FLORIN — DE  BARCIA  ON  VERRAZANO.      9,5 

seignoralties  which  Their  Majesties  held  in  Spain  and  elsewhere,  one  of  the 
least  of  their  vassals  could  perform  such  a  service  in  so  remote  a  region  as 
these  Indies,  gaining  so  many  kingdoms  for  the  increase  of  the  royal  sceptre 
of  Castille." 

Oviedo  arrived  in  Spain  from  Espanola  November  5,  1523,  and 
was  with  the  Court  during  1524  and  1525,  starting  again  for 
America  April  30,  1526.  If,  therefore,  Florin  had  been  taken  or 
hung  during  that  time,  Oviedo  would  certainly  have  chronicled 
the  fact. 


XVII.— GOMARA  ON  FLORIN. 

La  Gonquista  de  Mexico,  (^aragoga,  1553,  fol.  Ixxxvii. 

After  describing  the  things  sent  in  the  three  caravels  from 
Mexico,  and  giving  the  names  of  the  officers  in  charge  of  their 
precious  freight,  all  which  seems  to  be  taken  from  Martyr's 
Decades,  he  continues  : 

"But  Florin,  a  French  Corsair,  took  the  two  caravels  which  carried  the 
gold,  this  side  of  the  Azores.  And  he  took  at  the  same  time  that  which  was 
coming  from  the  Islands  with  seventy-two  thousand  ducats,  six  hundred 
marks  of  mother  of  pearl  (aljofar)  and  pearls,  and  two  thousand  arrobas  of 
sugar." 

Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomara  became  the  Chaplain  of  Cortes 
after  the  conquest,  and  is  generally  considered  a  most  reliable 
though  sometimes  partial  historian.  He  may  have  been  in  Seville, 
a  young  man,  at  the  time  of  Florin's  capture  of  the  treasure,  and 
is  the  first  author,  after  Martyr,  who  mentions  Florin's  name. 
That  he,  like  Martyr,  should  be  silent  about  the  taking  and  hang 
ing  of  Florin,  is  significant  of  the  groundlessness  of  the  story. 


XVIII.— DE  BARCIA  ON  JUAN  VERRAZANO. 

Etisayo  Cronologico  para  la  Historia  General  de  la  Florida: 
por  Don  Gabriel  de  Cardenas  y  Cano.  Madrid,  1723,  folio. 

This  is  one  of  the  numerous  works  of  the  indefatigable  Don 
Andres  Gonzales  de  Barcia,  whose  name  is  concealed  under  the 
above  anagram  of  it. 


96  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

Fol.  8,  year  1524.  "Juan  Verrazano,  a  Corsair  of  France, 
coasted  the  Eastern  shores  of  Florida  for  more  than  700  leagues. 
Having  sailed  on  the  17th  of  January  from  the  uninhabited  rock 
of  Madera,  he  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  Canada  or  St. 
Lawrence,  noting  the  lands,  its  people  and  their  customs,  as  he 
himself  writes*  to  Francis  the  First,  King  of  France,  from 
Dieppe,  on  the  8th  of  June  [July],  whose  narrative  is  abridged 
by  Antonio  de  Herrera,  who  believed  that  he  returned  to  France, 
although  some  say  that  he  did  not,  having  died  on  the  way  ;  and 
others  that  on  attempting  to  land  he  was  eaten  by  Indians  the 
following  year.  If  he  did  not  return  to  Florida  afterwards,  it 
would  not  be  easy  to  agree  about  it.  The  truth  is,  that  at  that 
time,  there  infested  our  Seas  Juan  Florentin,  a  French  pirate, 
who  made  himself  famous  from  having  taken,  in  the  year  1521, 
the  Ship  in  which  Hernan  Cortes  was  sending  to  the  Emperor 
Charles  V,  a  present  of  gold,  silver  and  other  precious  things,  in 
the  charge  of  Alonzo  de  Avila,  whom  he  took  a  prisoner,!  and 
another  ship  coming  to  Spain  from  the  Island  of  Santo  Domingo, 
of  great  value,  with  which,  and  others,  he  returned  to  France 
very  rich,  and  made  great  presents  to  the  King  Francis,  and  to 
those  of  his  court,  who  was  astonished  to  see  such  riches." 

"  He  took  again  to  the  sea.  much  honored  and  favored,  and 
witli  greater  forces  and  preparations;  did  great  damage,  and  took 
innumerable  prizes;  and  retiring  to  France  with  them,  he  was 
met  near  the  Canaries  this  year  by  four  Biscayan  vessels,  who 
took  his  ships  and  what  they  carried,  carrying  him  a  prisoner  to 
Seville,  with  others.  Thence  they  were  sent  to  Madrid,  but  those 
who  had  influence  and  had  been  damaged  through  his  violence, 
clamored  for  justice:  so  he  and  the  other  Captains  were  exe 
cuted,  being  hung  in  the  Puerto  del  Pico  as  pirates,  public 
enemies  of  nations." 

Barcia  erroneously  places  the  first  capture  in  1521.  We  have 
shown  that  Florentin  took  a  Santo  Domingo  ship  in  this  year, 

*  The  Spanish  reads,  ' '  como  se  dice,  que  el  mismo  lo  escrivio  a  Fran 
cisco,  &c. ; "  but  he  cannot  mean  to  say  that  he  was  not  acquainted  with 
the  letter  itself  in  Ramusius. 

f  Who  (Avila)  having  recovered  his  liberty  went  afterwards  with  Francisco 
Montejo  to  the  conquest  of  Yucatan  as  Royal  Treasurer,  keeping  the  rank 
he  held  in  New  Spain.  (Parenthesis  in  text.) 


DE  VIERA.  97 

but  the  Cortes  treasures,  with  auotlier  West  India  vessel,  were 
taken  in  1523.  In  1522  he  was  driven  away  from  the  Canaries, 
according  to  Viera,  and  also  from  the  Spanish  coast,  according  to 
Ilerrera,*  without  carrying  off  any  prizes.  The  conflict  with  the 
Biscayans  is  the  story  told  by  Bernal  Diaz.  This  is  therefore  a 
very  confused  account,  and  palpably  incorrect  as  to  dates.  His 
story  of  the  execution  is  evidently  taken  at  second  hand  from 
Bernal  Diaz,  leaving  but  a  slender  hearsay  report  as  a  foundation 
for  it.  As  before  stated,  these  two  writers  alone  mention  the 
execution  of  Juan  Florin. 

It  will  be  noticed  also  that  he  makes  him  sail  along  our  coast 
from  north  to  south. 


XIX.— DE  VIERA. 

Notices  of  the  general  History  of  the  Canary  Islands,  by  Don 
Joseph  de  Viera  y  Clavijo.  Madrid,  1772.  3  vols.  sq.  Svo. 

Vol.  II,  Cap.  XII,  p.  294  (Castillo  MS.,  lib.  3). 

Action  of  the  Governor  of  Canary,  Pedro  Suarez  de  Castilla, 
&c.  (abridged). 

"In  the  sixth  year  of  his  government,  which  was  in  1522,  he  sent  out 
vessels  to  recapture  seven  boats  with  emigrants  for  the  Islands,  and  made 
Juan  Florin,  the  corsair,  release  them. 

"  He  then  betook  himself  to  the  Azores,  and  captured  two  vessels  return 
ing  from  America,  sent  by  Cortes,  with  the  Ransom  of  Montczuma,  with 
over  88m.  Castellanos  in  bars  of  gold  and  plate,  precious  stones,  pearls,"  &c. 

There  are  two  Castillo  manuscripts  mentioned  by  de  Viera,  in 
his  Prologo.  The  above  extract  is  probably  from  the  one  by 
Don  Pedro  Agustin  del  Castillo  of  Tenerife,  being  a  history  of 
the  Islands.  It  would  be  interesting  to  look  at  this  manuscript 
carefully,  as  it  may  contain  further  details  about  the  above  occur 
rence. 

*  Dec.  Ill,  Lib.  I,  Cap.  XIV. 
13 


98  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 


XX.— CORTES  DE  VALLADOLID. 

Las  Cortes  de  Valladolid  del  ano  do  1523. 

Printed  1551. 

Peticion  LXXIII. 

"  Item  that  the  seas  of  the  Kingdom  of  Granada  and  Andalusia, 
and  also  those  of  Castille,  being  full  of  Moorish,  Turkish  and 
French  corsairs;  so  that  no  one  can  traffic,  and  every  day  they 
attack  the  forts  and  capture  persons  and  effects,  and  also  other 
damage,  therefore  your  Highness  is  begged  that  the  fleet  may 
cruise  in  said  seas,  and  that  another  fleet  maybe  prepared,  if  neces 
sary,  so  that  the  seas  may  be  cleared  in  such  a  manner  that  com 
merce  can  be  carried  on,  that  the  galleys  may  be  equipped  and 
entrusted  to  a  person  of  experience  and  accustomed  to  maritime 
matters,  and  that  your  Highness  would  provide  in  such  a  way 
that  these  Kingdoms  may  not  suffer  such  damage,  disgrace  and 
affront  that  no  one  dare  leave  his  house,  and  merchants  dare  not 
come  to  Castille,  from  fear  of  the  corsairs,  and  from  this  reason 
the  goods  that  are  brought  and  enter  the  Kingdom  are  twice  as 
costly  as  they  used  to  be. 

To  this  we  answer,  that  we  appreciate  what  you  tell  us,  and  it 
is  right  that  measures  should  be  taken,  and  we  charge  you  to 
arrange  among  yourselves  the  manner  and  method  which  is  to  be 
followed  to  remedy  it,  and  advise  us  thereof;  because  what  can 
be  provided  according  to  our  means  shall  be  done,  and  in  the 
providing  of  the  galleys  Ave  have  already  entrusted  them  to  a 
person  experienced  in  the  sea." 

Peticion  LXXIL 

"  Further  ;  that  a  guard  of  the  coast  of  Granada  be  provided, 
as  it  was  in  the  time  of  the  Catholic  Kings. 

To  this  we  answer,  that  it  shall  be  done." 

This  is  probably  the  petition  alluded  to  by  Peter  Martyr,  as 
having  been  presented  by  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  in  Decade 
VII,  Cap.  IV.  It  is,  however,  uncertain  whether  the  sending  of 
an  armed  fleet  under  Domingo  Alonzo  to  the  Azores,  was  an 
independent  act  of  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  or  in  accordance 
with  this  decree. 


CORTES  DE  TOLEDO.  99 


XXL— CORTES  DE  TOLEDO. 

Las  Cortes  de  Toledo  del  ano  de  1525. 

Printed  1550. 

Peticion  XXII. 

"  Also  we  entreat  your  Majesty  that  since  all  the  Kingdom  and 
the  coasts  of  Castile,  as  well  as  those  of  Andalusia,  are  much 
cursed  (damriiticada)  by  the  robberies  which  the  French  and 
Moors  have  committed,  and  continued  to  do  daily,  of  many  ships 
and  merchandise  of  great  value,  and  of  the  gold  from  the  Indies, 
which  they  have  taken  because  our  coasts  are  not  guarded  ;  by 
which  your  Majesty  is  much  injured,  because  the  French  provide 
themselves  with  our  ships,  and  the  Moors  take  them  also,  and 
with  them  carry  on  war,  and  the  coasts  will  remain  without  ship 
ping,  from  which  great  damage  will  ensue  to  the  whole  Kingdom, 
may  your  Majesty  be  pleased  to  order  that  in  the  Cities  and  places 
in  the  land  of  Biscay  and  of  Guypuscoa  those  who  may  wish  to 
do  so  may  arm,  your  Majesty  ordering  and  aiding  them  to  do 
this,  and  further  providing  thus  for  the  sea  coast  as  may  be 
required  ;  and  also  in  the  ports  of  Andalusia  and  the  Moorish 
coast,  may  your  Majesty  order  this  to  be  remedied  and  provided 
for ;  in  such  manner  that  the  French  and  the  Moors  may  not  do 
mischief  as  they  have  done  hitherto  ;  all  which  your  Majesty  has 
promised  many  times  for  the  peace  of  your  Royal  mind  and  for 
the  honor  and  profit  of  these  Kingdoms  ;  and  towards  this  his 
Holiness  has  granted  and  grants  many  Bulls  and  Indulgences. 

To  this  we  answer  that  wTe  hold  it  a  service  for  all  those  of  our 
Kingdoms  who  desire  it  to  arm  for  the  above  purpose  ;  and  to 
aid  in  the  outlay  they  may  make,  we  have  ordered  and  now  order 
that  during  our  Royal  reign  the  fifth  belonging  to  us  in  all  prizes 
taken  shall  be  granted;  in  furtherance  of  which  we  order  our 
Council  to  make  the  required  regulations  ;  and  as  for  the  coast 
guard,  we  have  ordered  our  Council  of  War  to  issue  orders,  to 
provide  that  the  coast  be  made  safe  and  well  watched,  that  our 
subjects  may  not  suffer  loss." 

This  decree  was  perhaps  issued  in  1523  or  4,  after  the  great 
captures  of  the  Mexican  treasure  vessels,  and  the  Biscayans,  who 
met  and  captured  a  fleet  of  French  Corsairs,  probably  fitted  out 
under  its  authority. 


100  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 


XXIL— CORSAIRS  IN  THE   WEST  INDIES  AFTER  1527. 

Continual  complaints  of  the  ravages  by  French  and  English 
corsairs  were  made  by  the  officials  in  the  West  Indies  after  the 
year  1527.  The  thirst  of  the  Spanish  monarchs  for  gold,  and 
the  rapacity  of  individual  adventurers,  left  the  colonies  poor,  and 
productive  of  little  besides  articles  of  intrinsic  value.  So  little 
had  been  expended  for  the  defence  of  these  rich  islands  and 
provinces,  that  as  late  as  1535  there  had  been  constructed  but 
one  fort  for  their  defence,*  the  poor  one  in  the  port  of  Sto. 
Domingo,  of  which  the  historian  Oviedo  was  alcalde  from  1533 
to  1554.  His  complaints  of  its  poor  condition,  with  its  ten 
soldiers,  a  few  small  cannon  and  small  supply  of  powder,  were 
unceasing.  This  fort,  and  some  minor  defences  at  other  points, 
are  said  to  have  been  constructed  for  defence  against  the  Indians 
only,  and  not  as  a  protection  to  the  ports. 

The  only  naval  armament  consisted,  in  1541,  of  galleys  at  a 
few  ports,  f  and  the  sea  was  quite  open  to  any  daring  foreign 
adventurer.  This  defenceless  condition  became  known  to  the 
French  and  English,  who  soon  took  advantage  of  it,  and  their 
privateers  roamed  in  the  Gulf  and  Caribbean  Sea,  entering  ports 
and  seizing  laden  vessels  in  them,  sacking  towns  or  levying  ran 
som,  and  refitting  in  places  which  dared  not  refuse  supplies. 

Some  of  the  English  vessels  had  French  pilots,  who  were 
better  acquainted  with  the  routes  to  the  islands  and  the  coasts 
there  than  their  own,  the  French  having  been  the  first  to  inaugu 
rate  privateering  at  the  sources  of  the  supply  of  precious  metals. 

From  this  time  the  pursuit  of  Spanish  treasure  became  unceas 
ing,  and  was  continued  for  a  century  and  a  half  by  the  French 
or  English,  the  Dutch  also  entering  the  lists  after  shaking  off  the 
Spanish  yoke.  The  history  of  the  early  buccaneers  has  not  been 
written,  but  many  tales  of  the  exploits  of  their  successors  have 
been  gathered.  Spain  paid  dearly  for  her  colonial  policy  of 
exclusion,  and  reaped  no  lasting  benefit  from  her  possessions  in 
the  New  World. 

*Doc.  In.,  1864,  581. 

f  See  in  reference  to  the  above :  Oviedo,  Hen-era,  and  Documentos  Ineditos, 
particularly  the  volume  for  1864,  pages  12,  15,  511-13-48-70-72-75-81-83. 


ROUTES  TO  AND  FROM  THE  WEST  INDIES.          101 


XXIIL— ROUTES  TO  AND   FROM   THE   WEST  INDIES. 

No  settled  route  from  Spain  to  the  West  Indies  had  been 
pursued  until  Pedrarias  Davila,  in  1514,  going  to  Castilla  del  Oro 
(Darien),  with  a  fleet,  took  advantage  of  all  that  could  shorten 
the  navigation,  and  his  path  across  the  ocean  was  thenceforth 
adopted  as  the  regular  one  to  be  followed.  Oviedo,  Herrera, 
Cespedes  and  others  describe  the  route  outward  and  inward 
circumstantially. 

The  first  course  outward  from  Spain  was  to  Gran  Canaria, 
Gomera  or  Palma,  occupying  eight  or  ten  days,  where  supplies 
were  taken  in.  Taking  a  departure  from  Ferro,  a  course  was 
made  W.  S.  W.,  £  S.,  toward  the  Northerly  windward  Islands, 
favored  by  the  Brisas  or  trades,  endeavoring  to  sight  La  Deseada 
and  Dominica.  This  course,  occupying  about  twenty-five  days, 
was  estimated  at  750  leagues.  On  a  great  circle,  it  measures  721 
Spanish  leagues,  or  2,470  nautical  miles.  Vessels  badly  steered 
would  go  wide  of  the  mark,  and  first  make  the  leeward  islands, 
or  even  the  coasts  of  Honduras.  From  Dominica  they  would 
generally  make  for  the  city  of  Santo  Domingo,  on  the  south  side 
of  Ilispaniola,  unless  bound  for  Tierra  Firme.  The  whole  voyage 
was  made  in  about  thirty-five  to  forty  days,  and  the  vessels  bound 
to  the  Northerly  Islands  would  sail  in  April  or  May,  but  if  for 
Tierra  Firme,  in  August  or  September. 

The  return  voyage  was  made  in  a  higher  latitude,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  trades  and  meet  the  north-west  winds.  At  first,  vessels 
passed  out  into  the  ocean  through  the  old  Bahama  channel,  but 
after  the  Florida  channel  had  been  discovered  by  Alaminos,  and 
the  corsairs  became  troublesome,  they  were  ordered  to  rendezvous 
at  Havannah,  and  sail  in  fleets  for  mutual  protection.  Thence 
they  kept  well  to  the  north,  sometimes  sighting  the  Bermudas, 
and  generally  stopping  at  the  Azores.  If  the  Azores  could  not 
be  made,  a  course  was  made  to  Cape  Blanco.  From  either  of  these 
points  the  course  was  taken  toward  Cape  St.  Vincent,  in  Portu 
gal.  In  the  winter  season  the  lower  course,  in  lat.  33  deg.,  was 
preferred.  Twenty  or  thirty  days  was  the  average  time  of  the 
voyage  to  the  Azores,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  thence  to  San  Lucar, 
though  much  better  time  was  sometimes  made,  while  others  were 


102  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

three  or  four  months  on  the  way.     The  start  from  New  Mexico, 
or  Havannah,  was  generally  made  early  in  May. 

We  give  the  above  in  order  to  indicate  the  stations  which  the 
corsairs  would  most  likely  select  to  waylay  Spanish  vessels,  and 
the  seasons  at  which  they  might  expect  them.  About  1527,  the 
French  and  English  corsairs  found  that  by  following  the  trades 
to  the  West  Indies,  they  could  better  attack  the  treasure-laden 
vessels  of  the  Spaniards  before  they  had  gathered  at  their  ren 
dezvous  in  Cuba.  The  precautions  taken  to  guard  them  after 
they  had  thus  met  together  almost  put  an  end  to  the  watch  of 
the  corsairs  around  the  Azores  and  Cape  St.  Vincent,  which  had 
proved  so  profitable  to  Verrazano. 


XXIV.—  SUPPRESSION    OF    GEOGRAPHICAL    KNOW 
LEDGE  BY  SPAIN. 

The  jealous  secretiveness  of  Spain  regarding  her  marine  charts 
has  been  noticed  in  another  note,  and  therefore  the  appearance 
of  a  chart  of  the  West  Indies  in  Martyr's  Decade  of  the  Ocean, 
in  1511,  must  have  been  unauthorized  and  probably  distasteful 
to  the  government.  Curiously  enough,  the  King,  in  this  very 
year,  forbids  the  communication  of  Spanish  charts  to  foreigners, 
and  it  may  be  that  this  measure  was  dictated  by  the  publication 
of  this  chart  as  much  as  by  the  Portuguese  attempt  to  get  maps 
from  Vespucius.  Possibly  this  may  have  led  to  a  suppression  of 
the  book,  for  but  very  few  copies  of  it  are  now  known.  The 
next  editions,  of  1516  and  1530  (this  last,  the  fullest  one,  and 
published  after  his  death)  have  no  maps  at  all. 

No  maps  by  Columbus  or  by  the  Spanish  explorers  of  America 
were  ever  published.  We  have  none  by  Cortes  or  Pizarro, 
Magellan  or  Gomez,  but  they  all  prepared  draughts  of  their  dis 
coveries,  no  doubt,  that  served  the  Pilotos  Majores  in  the  com 
pilation  of  the  fine  manuscript  charts  preserved  in  European 
libraries.  In  fact,  we  find  many  references  to  such  charts,  but 
very  few  of  them  are  now  known. 

No  official  general  charts  of  the  Americas  were  published  in 
Spain  until  1790,  but  several  sketches,  such  as  Pedro  de  Medina's 


FAMILY  OF  VERRAZANO.  103 

of  1545,  appeared  in  Spanish  works  after  the  middle  of  the  six 
teenth  century.  The  first  general  map  of  the  new  continent, 
published  from  Spanish  authorities,  is  that  by  Sebastian  Cabot  in 
his  Mapamundi  of  1544,  of  which  but  one  copy,  found  by  the  late 
Von  Martins  of  Munich,  and  sent  to  the  Royal  'library  in  Paris, 
in  1843,  is  now  known.  Cespedes,  in  1606,  speaks  of  it  as  having 
been  presented  to  the  King  of  Spain.  Its  rarity  can  only  be 
explained  by  the  desire  to  suppress  it  by  Spanish  authority;  and 
the  loss  of  Cabot's  papers  and  memoirs  after  his  death,  in  1556, 
was,  no  doubt,  the  result  of  the  same  jealous  desire  to  suppress  a 
general  knowledge  of  the  Spanish  colonial  empire.  The  attempts 
made  to  represent  the  New  World  by  Hylacomilus,  in  1513,  by 
Schoner  and  Apianus,  in  1520,  and  Gemma  Frisius,  in  1525,  were 
mere  guesses  at  the  real  outlines  of  America,  until  the  general 
interest  taken  in  the  Spanish  discoveries  after  the  conquest  of 
Mexico,  and  the  wonderful  voyage  of  Magellan,  brought  out  the 
tolerably  accurate  map  of  Oronce  Fine,  of  Dauphine  in  1531. 
Severe  penalties  were  threatened,  and  death  was  to  be  the  punish 
ment  of  those  who  allowed  strangers  to  get  copies  of  Spanish 
charts.  These  charts,  however,  must  have  fallen,  at  times,  into 
the  hands  of  foreigners,  and  our  navigator,  no  doubt,  had  found 
several  such  in  his  prizes,  and  thus  the  routes  to  the  Indies 
became  known  to  the  English  and  French.  Spanish  pilots  may 
have  entered  foreign  service,  but  if  so  they  probably  assumed  an 
alias,  and  but  one  such  is  named  up  to  the  year  1530. 


XXV.— FAMILY  OF  VERRAZANO. 

Two  Eulogies  of  Giovanni  de  Verrazano  appeared  in  Florence 
about  the  same  time.  One,  which  we  have  not  seen,  was  included 
by  Giuseppe  Allegrini,  a  printer  in  Florence,  in  the  second 
Volume  of  the  work  entitled  Ritratti  ed  Elogi  degli  TTomini 
Illustre  della  Toscana,  1768.  The  other  was  prepared  by  Giuseppe 
Pelli  for  the  same  work,  but  was  for  some  reason,  not  accepted, 
and  was  printed  separately  by  the  author,  with  a  preface  men 
tioning  the  above  facts,  in  1769.  It  is  signed  G.  P.,  but  we  learn 
the  name  of  the  author  from  Tiraboschi.  Pelli  also  published 


104  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

Memoirs  for  the  life  of  Dante^  a  work  of  some  value,  and  which 
was  republished  in  1823. 

The  notice  of  Verrazano  is  entitled  Elogio  \  di  Giovanni  da 
Verrazano  \  Fiorentino  \  Scopritore  delta  Nuova  Francia  nel 
Secolo  XVI.  |  iColophon.]  In  Firenze  MDCCLXIX.  |  Nella 
Stamperia  di  Giuseppe  Allegrini,  e  Comp.  \  Square  octavo, 
pp.  xi. 

The  copy  we  have  consulted,  perhaps  the  only  one  in  this  coun 
try,  was  purchased  at  the  Kirkup  sale,  London,  December,  1871, 
and  was  kindly  loaned  to  us  by  the  Hon.  Henry  C.  Murphy. 

The  family  of  Verrazano  is  considered  by  Pelli,  to  have 
come  from  Verrazan,*  a  place  in  the  Val  di  Greve,  a  few  miles 
South  of  Florence  (which  in  the  twelfth  century  belonged  to 
the  De  Bertoldis  e  da  Panzano),  and  at  the  time  of  his  writing 
still  held  property  there.  The  same  writer  says  that  the  Gon- 
falonierate  was  twice  held  by  members  of  the  family,  and  the 
Priorate  about  forty  times.  He  names  Ludovico  di  Francesco 
di  Baccio  da  Verrazano,  as  having  distinguished  himself  when 
Governor  of  Leghorn  and  Commander  of  the  galleys  of  San 
Stefano. 

His  eulogist  states  that  his  parents'  names  were  Piero  Andrea 
di  Bernardo  [di  Bernardo]  da  Verrazano,  and  Fiametta  Capella. 
Giovanni  was  certainly  born  after  1480,  and  had  a  brother,  who 
was  of  the  Priori  in  1529,  (possibly  the  Hieronimus  who  made 
the  chart,  now  preserved  in  Rome,  which  Mons.  Thomassy  has 
described.) 

The  biographer  adds  that  he  had  seen,  in  the  possession  of  the 
family,  a  copy  of  Ramusius  with  a  MS.  treatise  on  navigation 
added  to  the  letter,  which  was  no  doubt  a  copy  of  the  one 
seen  in  the  Magliabechian  Library,  by  Mr.  Greene  in  1837,  and 
given  in  Vol.  I  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  New  York  Historical 
Society,  New  Series,  1841.  Besides  the  above,  Pelli  gives  some 

*  There  is  a  place,  whose  modern  name  is  very  like  that  of  our  navi 
gator's,  viz.,  Verraza,  the  ancient  Voragina  or  Varagio,  a  few  miles  west 
of  Cogoletto,  one  of  the  places  which  claims  to  be  the  birthplace  of  Colum 
bus.  Verraza  is  on  the  Riviera  de  Ponente,  some  eighteen  miles  vvest  of 
Genoa,  a  place  where  much  shipbuilding  is  done,  and  the  birthplace  of 
Jacopo  di  Voragine,  a  Dominican,  Archbishop  of  Genoa  in  1292,  and  the 
compiler  of  the  curious  collection  of  stories  known  as  the  Golden  Legend. 


FAMILY  OF  VERRAZANO.  ]05 

other  details,  not  immediately  relating  to  our  Navigator,  and 
notices  in  a  brief  manner  the  voyage  of  1524,  from  the  text  of 
Ranmsius,  without  a  suspicion  that  a  copy  of  perhaps  the  origi 
nal  letter  was  preserved  close  at  hand,  in  the  city  where  he  was 
writing. 

No  doubt  the  family  history  could  be  traced  with  greater  cer 
tainty  by  a  modern  Italian  scholar,  versed  in  such  studies.  We 
can  add  one  or  two  names  to  the  family,  that  may  assist  investi 
gators.  A  fine  Manuscript  sermon,  written  in  the  neatest  style 
of  Italian  script,  signed  at  the  end  "  Alexander  Verrazamis 
escripsit  MCCCCLXXXXI1II,"  was  procured  by  us  from  the 
above  mentioned  sale  of  Baron  Kirkup's  library,  lot  No.  4035. 
This  may  have  been  an  uncle  of  Giovanni's,  who  had  taken  holy 
orders. 

We  find  the  same  Christian  name  mentioned  in  Coronelli's 
Epitome  Cosmographica,  published  in  Cologne  in  1693.  At  page 
263  we  read,  after  a  short  notice  of  the  voyage  of  1524,  "that 
one  of  the  same  family,  named  Alessandro,  was  living  at  that 
date  in  Florence." 

In  the  letter  of  Annibale  Caro,  of  October,  1537,  the  Verra- 
zano  who  is  addressed  as  a  Mapmaker  and  traveller,  and  as  hav 
ing  a  brother  also  a  navigator,  was  probably  Hieronimus,  author 
of  the  Mapamundi.  Mr.  Smith,  however,  in  his  Inquiry  of  1864, 
treats  this  letter  as  a  fiction  and  literary  jeu  d'esprit,  but  we  are 
of  a  contrary  opinion. 

Mr.  Greene  says  that  the  family  became  extinct  in  Florence  by 
the  death  of  the  Cavaliere  Andrea  da  Verrazano,  who  died  there 
in  1819. 

Since  the  above  was  written  we  have  seen  the  work  first  men 
tioned  and  find  that  it  adds  nothing  to  what  was  already  known, 
concerning  our  navigator,  though  some  details  may  be  gleaned 
from  it  not  contained  in  Pelli's  Eulogy.  The  work  in  which  this 
Eulogy  appears  is  entitled,  "  Serie  di  Rittrati  cV  Ubmini  Illustri 
Toscani  con  gli  Elogi  istorici  del  medesimi"  &c.  [title  engraved,] 
Firenze,  appresso  Giuseppe  Allegrini.  In  four  large  imp.  folio 
vols.  with  engraved  portraits,  <fec.  Many  of  these  are  engraved 
by  Francesco  Allegrini.  The  dates  of  the  vols.  are  1766-68-70 
and  73.  The  Eulogy,  with  portrait  of  Verrazano,  is  under  No.  30, 
in  the  second  volume.  It  is  signed  A.  C.  N.  and  in  the  "  avver- 
14 


106  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

timento"  the  author  of  it  is  not  named,  but  is  said  to  be  a  relative 
(agnato)  of  the  jurist  Antonio  Maria  Rosati.  Pelli  is  here  acknow 
ledged  to  be  the  chief  editor  of  the  work.  The  present  Eulogy, 
as  before  said,  was  substituted  for  the  one  he  had  prepared,  in 
consequence  of  some  unexplained  misunderstanding. 

The  name  is  here  spelt  Verrazzano.  On  the  authority  of  Cosimo 
della  Rena,  the  family  is  said  to  be  of  Lombard  origin,  to  have 
settled  in  the  Val  di  Greve,  and  acquired  citizenship  in  Florence 
in  1190.  One  of  them  in  1260  was  a  Guelf  leader,  another  in 
1428  was  a  general  of  the  Duke  of  Milan,  and  Francesco,  the 
Governor  of  Leghorn,  is  said  to  have  been  much  honored  by 
Philip  the  Fourth  of  Spain.  His  mother  is  farther  identified  as 
Fiametta  (di  J3arone,  di  Giovanni,  di  Filippo)  Capelli.  With 
Pelli,  the  author  assumes  that  he  was  not  born  before  1480,  as  his 
name  is  not  found  on  certain  Registers  ( Catasto)  that  close  with 
that  year. 

This  Eulogist  then  speaks  of  the  voyage  to  America,  from  the 
letter  as  given  in  Ramusius,  referring  to  Charlevoix,  &c.,  but 
adding  nothing  to  what  we  already  know  except  that  he  draws 
attention  to  the  manuscript  copy  of  the  letter,  with  its  cosmo- 
graphical  appendix,  in  the  Strozzi  library.  (Pelli  saw  this  appen 
dix  in  MS.  in  the  family  copy  of  Ramusius.)  It  was  therefore 
from  this  reference  that  Tiraboschi  was  probably  enabled  to  refer 
to  this  version  of  the  letter  in  its  first  form,  which  Mr.  Greene 
copied  for  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  who  published  it 
in  1841. 

In  a  closing  note,  the  author  speaks  of  a  portrait  of  the  navi 
gator,  hanging  in  the  Real  Galleria  Medicea,  in  the  Series  of 
Illustrious  Men,  and  as  among  the  famous  Seamen,  under 
No.  37.  He  also  mentions  a  medal  struck  in  his  honor,  as 
described  in  the  "  Tramoggia  del  Annale  Secondo  della  Acade- 
mia  Colombaria"  under  No.  139. 

The  Portrait  accompanying  this  Eulogy  is  probably  of  very 
doubtful  authenticity.  It  represents  a  good  looking  man  in 
armor,  with  a  baton  in  his  right  hand.  Under  the  portrait  there 
is  a  coat  of  arms,  which  if  it  really  represents  the  bearings  of  the 
family,  is  curiously  suggestive  of  nautical  pursuits.  It  has  a  large 
eight  pointed  star,  gules,  with  a  small  shield  on  the  dexter  chief 
bearing  a  double  fleur  de  Us,  all  on  a  field  party  per  pale,  or  and 


CRIGNON,  PARMENTIER,  ESTANCELIN.  107 

argent.  This  seems  to  be  an  attempt  at  a  marine  compass,  and 
recalls  the  arms  of  Amalfi,  where  that  instrument  is  said  to  have 
been  invented  or  improved  by  Flavio  Gioja. 

Under  the  Portrait  is  the  following  Inscription,  GIOVANNI  DI 
PIER  ANDREA  DI  BERNARDO  DA  VERRAZZANO  \  PATRIZIO 
FlOR™  GRAN  CAPITA  COMANDANTE  IN  MARE  PER  \  IL  RK 
CRISTIANISSIMO  FRANCESCO  PRIMO,  \  E  DISCOPRITORE  DELLA 
NUOVA  FRANC  I  A.  nato  circa  il  MCDLXXXV  morto  nel 
MI) XXV.  |  Dedicate  al  merito  sing™  dell  Illmo,  e  Rev™  Sigre 
Lodovico  da  Verrazano  \  Patrizio,e  Canonico'FiorentinoAgnato 
del  med°  \  Preso  dal  Quadro  Originate  in  Tela  esisente  presso  la 
suda  NoUl  Famiglia.  \  G.  Zocchidel:  F.  Allegrini  inci :  1767  | 


XXVL— CRIGNON,  PARMENTIER,  ESTANCELIN. 

L.  Estancelin  published  at  Paris,  in  1832,  in  8°,  his  "  Recherches 
sur  les  Voyages  et  Deconvertes  des  Namgateurs  Normands.  He 
was  the  fortunate  discoverer,  among  the  papers  of  Mons.  Tarbe  of 
Sens,  of  an  account  of  the  voyage  of  Jean  Parmentier,  of  Dieppe, 
to  Sumatra,  in  1529,  which  was  prefaced  by  a  cosmographical 
treatise. 

This  last  was  given  in  Italian  by  Ramusius,  in  his  collection, 
Vol.  Ill,  1556,  folios  423  to  431.  Ramusius  regrets  not  being 
able  to  give  the  name  of  the  author  of  this  " Discorso"  and  had 
apparently  not  seen  the  second  part,  which  is  the  Voyage  to 
Sumatra  in  1529. 

The  manuscript  discovered  by  Estancelin,  is  considered  by  him 
to  be  of  a  contemporaneous  hand.  He  gives  it  in  full,  adding 
the  Italian  part  as  found  in  Ramusius.  The  first  part,  however, 
alone  interests  us,  as  containing  perhaps  the  first  written  evidence 
alluding  to  the  voyage  of  Verrazano. 

Mons.  Margry,  in  his  Navigations  Fran£aises,  etc.,  pages  130, 
199,  considers  Pierre  Crignon,  the  companion  of  Parmentier,  to 
have  been  the  author  of  the  Discourse  and  Narrative.  Parmentier, 
the  commander  of  the  expedition,  died  December  3,  1529,  in 
Ceylon.  There  is  no  evidence  that  Crignon  was  the  author  of 
the  Discourse,  although  he  was  a  good  navigator,  and  wrote  a 
treatise  on  the  variation  of  the  magnetic  needle. 


JOS  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

This  first  part,  or  Discorso  as  Ramnsius  well  calls  it,  though  a 
very  brief  one,  gives  the  author's  ideas  of  the  coasts,  and  of  the 
distances  along  them,  of  the  known  world.  It  is  written  in  a 
clear  and  sketchy  manner,  and  we  should  like  to  dwell  upon  it  in 
greater  detail,  but  shall  confine  ourselves  to  the  passage  in  which 
he  alludes  to  Verrazano. 

This  discourse  appears,  from  internal  evidence  (and  is  admitted 
by  Mr.  Margry),  to  have  been  written  in  1539,  and  is  interesting 
as  presenting  the  first  notice  of  the  voyage  of  1524,  written  by  a 
person  who  perhaps  had  known  its  commander. 

"  TJie  land  of  Norumbega.  Following  the  direction  of  Cape  Breton  [from 
E.  to  W.],  one  meets  with  a  land  contiguous  to  this  cape,  and  whose  coast 
extends  westwardly,  one  quarter  south-west  [W.  by  S.],  to  the  lands  of 
Florida,  embracing  a  space  of  about  five  hundred  leagues.  [Our  author  had 
clearly  not  been  along  this  coast  himself.] 

"  This  coast  was  discoverd,  fifteen  years  since,  by  Messirc  Jean  de  Verra 
zano,  who  took  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  the  King,  Francis  the  First, 
and  of  Madame,  the  Regente.  Many  navigators,  and  even  the  Portuguese, 
call  it  the  Terre  FranQaise.  It  ends  towards  Florida,  at  the  78th  degree  of 
longitude  West,  and  30th  degree  of  latitude  North.  The  land  is  very  fertile 
in  all  kinds  of  fruits;  it  grows  orange  trees,  almond  trees,  wild  grape-vines, 
and  a  great  variety  of  odoriferous  trees.  This  land  is  called  Nurumbega 
by  the  natives." 

About  the  name  Nurumbega,  here  first  mentioned,  much  has 
been  written  without  any  satisfactory  derivation  having  been 
suggested,  except  that  it  seems  to  be  a  native  name  with  the 
termination  eg  or  ek,  sometimes  found  farther  south  as  og,  ok, 
or  ogue,  which  is  an  adverbial  addition,  meaning  the  place 
where,  or  the  place  of.  It  is  also  a  common  Breton  or  Norman 
termination  to  the  name  of  many  places,  and  thus  perhaps  its 
origin  may  be  traced  to  the  early  fishing  expeditions  to  these 
coasts,  about  which  so  little  is  known. 

Another  suggestion  has  been  made,  that  the  name  may  date 
back  to  the  time  of  Ayllon,  for  Peter  Martyr,  in  giving  the  details 
of  the  Licentiate's  explorations,  in  the  second  book  of  his  Seventh 
Decade  of  the  New  World,  written  in  1524,  but  not  published 
till  1530,  says,  "  The  Spaniards  travelled  through  many  of  the, 
great  provinces  of  these  little  Kings,  among  which  they  named 
Arambe,  G-uacaia,  Quohathe,  Tanzacca,  Pahor,  oil  the  natives  of 
which  are  dusky"  As  no  such  name  as  Arambe  or  Arambec 


DESMA  R  q  UETS.  1 09 

appears  on  he  Spanish  maps  of  1527  and  1529  by  Colon  and 
Ribero,  which  were  made  up  from  the  very  reports  of  Ay  lion  and 
Gomez,  and  as  Peter  Martyr's  work  was  probably  unknown  to 
the  author  of  the  Memoir  of  1539,  it  seems  that  we  have  here  a 
mere  verbal  coincidence.  One  might  as  well  make  Powhattan 
and  Tennessee  out  of  two  of  the  other  names. 

On  the  copper  globe  of  1542,  by  Ulpianus,  (preserved  in  the 
New  York  Historical  Society),  we  find,  in  the  position  generally 
assigned  to  Norurnbega,  an  attempted  latinized  form  of  it  as 
Normanvilla.  This  seems  to  be  its  first  appearance  on  a  map. 

The  map  of  Hieronimus  Verrazano  shows,  however,  in  the  photo 
graphic  copy  of  it  before  us,  a  trace  of  a  name  like  Norurnbega. 


XXVIL— DESMARQUETS. 

Jean  Antoine  Desmarquets,  author  of  the  Memoires  Chronolo- 
yiques  de  Dieppe,  etc.,  Paris,  2  vols.,  12°,  1785,  (Vol.  I,  page  100,) 
gives  to  Thomas  Aubert,  on  his  voyage  to  Newfoundland  in  1508, 
a  companion  named  Jean  Verassen.  He  pretends  to  have  found 
this  fact  in  the  old  archives  of  Dieppe,  but  from  the  tenor  of  a 
foot  note  on  the  subject,  he  does  not  consider  this  Verassen  to  be 
the  same  person  as  Verrazano,  the  Florentine. 

He  adds  that  in  the  year  1508  these  two  captains,  in  two  vessels, 
ascended  the  St.  Lawrence  River  for  more  than  80  leagues  (240 
geographical  miles),  naming  it  thus  because  they  began  to  ascend 
it  on  that  saint's  day,  the  10th  of  August. 

This  remarkable  statement  is  entirely  isolated,  and  has  not 
since  been  verified  and  confirmed.  As  the  archives  of  Dieppe 
were  destroyed  in  the  bombardment  and  conflagration  of  1694, 
and  the  author  of  these  memoirs  had  little  else  to  consult  but 
private  records,  his  early  history  of  Dieppe  is  not  considered 
reliable.  There  is  good  evidence  that  Thomas  Aubert  did  make 
such  a  voyage  in  that  year,  but  the  name  of  Verrassen  is  not 
elsewhere  mentioned. 

The  evident  desire  of  Desmarquets  to  lessen  the  merit  of 
Jacques  C  'artier,  of  St.  Malo,  a  rival  seaport,  as  having  discovered 
the  St.  Liwrence  in  1534,  has  perhaps  led  him  into  putting  faith 


110  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

in   some  indications  of   such  a  previous    discovery  among   the 
papers  he  consulted. 

Estancelin,  a  Dieppese  himself,  and  a  close  student  of  what  is 
left  of  the  early  history  of  his  native  place  (and  whose  family 
papers  were  used  by  Desmarquets,  as  that  author  states  in  his 
preface),  found  no  such  name  as  Yerrassen  associated  with  that 
of  Aubert.  Compare,  op.  cit.,  p.  43  and  222. 


XXVIII.— RIBAULT. 

Ribault,  who  sailed  for  Florida  from  Havre  de  Grace  on  tbe 
18th  of  February  (O.  S.),  1562,  but  did  not  leave  the  coast  near 
Brest  till  the  end  of  February,  determined  to  cross  the  ocean  in 
a  direct  line,  supposing  that  he  was  the  first  one  to  attempt  it, 
forgetting  or  not  knowing  that  Verrazano  had  done  it  before. 
(See  Hak.  Soc.;  Div.  Voy.,  edited  by  F.  Winter  Jones,  pp.  95-98.) 
He  says:  "I  determined  to  prove  a  newe  course  which  hath  not 
beene  yet  attempted,  etc.,  to  make  the  furthest  arte  and  traverse 
of  the  seas,  that  ever  was  made  in  our  memorie  or  knowledge,  in 
longitude  from  the  East  to  the  West." 

They  sighted  Florida  on  the  last  of  April,  having  been  delayed 
by  storms,  being,  therefore,  two  months  on  the  voyage,  which  is 
a  fair  run,  considering  the  unfavorable  season  of  the  year,  and 
the  imperfect  build  of  the  vessels  of  those  days. 

Verrazano  was  fifty  days  on  the  voyage  from  Madeira  to 
Florida. 


XXIX.— TAVANNES'  MEMOIRS,  1536. 

There  is  to  be  found  in  the  Memoirs  of  Gaspard  de  Saulx, 
Seigneur  de  Tavannes,  of  1536,  a  curious  passage*  (which  we 
translated  for  the  Historical  Magazine,  Vol.  VI,  1862,  p.  157), 
in  which  the  author  dwells  on  the  rise  of  prices,  caused  by  the 

*  First  privately  printed;  republished,  1657,  and  included  in  Petitot's  col 
lection,  Torn.  23,  Ser.  I,  p.  238. 


TAVANNES*  MEMOIRS,  1536.  Ill 

influx  of  the  precious  metals  from  the  new  Indies,  and  the  power 
conferred  by  gold  on  nations  possessing  it.  He  also  anticipates 
the  use  of  paper  money  by  proposing  the  use  of  tokens  of  iron, 
coined  "in  such  a  way  that  it  could  not  be  imitated."  He  closes 
thus:  "This  conquest  of  the  New  World,  proposed  to  the  French 
and  despised  by  them,  is  a  proof  of  the  little  talent  of  their 
counsellors,  who  lost  empires  for  their  master,  and  let  their 
enemies  conquer  them  instead." 

There  seems  always  to  have  been  a  vague  tradition  relating  to 
the  object  of  the  stay  of  Bartholomew  Columbus  at  the  French 
court  about  1 490,  *  and  also  of  the  undertaking  of  Verrazano, 
in  1524,  circulating  in  France,  but  without  positive  evidence 
concerning  the  success  of  either. 

Montesquieu,  for  example,  says  (Esprit  des  Lois,  book  XXI, 
chap.  XXII),  "I  have  frequently  heard  people  deplore  the  blind 
ness  of  the  court  of  France,  who  repulsed  Christopher  Columbus 
when  he  made  the  proposal  of  discovering  the  Indies." 

The  general  rise  in  the  prices  of  all  the  necessaries  of  life  after 
the  conquest  of  Peru,  became  so  noticeable  that  it  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  government.  One  of  the  reasons  to  which  this 
advance  in  values  was  attributed  was  the  exportation  of  such 
articles  to  the  Indies.  This  forms  the  subject  of  several  petitions 
to  the  Emperor,  in  1548,  with  the  prayer  that  such  exportation 
may  be  stopped.  The  emperor's  answer  to  one  of  them,  praying 
that  woolen,  cotton  and  silk  goods  may  not  be  exported  to  the 
Indies,  is  that  he  has  referred  the  matter  to  the  Royal  Council 
and  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies  jointly,  and  that  he  will  act  on 
their  advice,  f 

The  result  of  this  reference  is  not  given,  but  such  a  prayer 
shows  how  little  Spain  understood  the  management  of  her  colo 
nies.  As  mere  producers  of  the  precious  metals,  the  value  of 
these  fell  as  they  became  more  plenty,  and  no  one  was  the  gainer 
by  such  a  trade. 

*  See  Noticias  de  D.  Bartolome  Colon,  por  D.  E.  F.  de  Navarrete,  in  the 
Coleccion  de  Documentos  Ineditos  para  la  Historia  de  Espana,  Tomo  XVI, 
1850,  pp.  485-574. 

f  See  Pragmaticas  de  Valladolid,  Ano  de  1548,  petition  214;  printed  in  that  city 
by  Fernandez  de  Cordova,  1549. 


112  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

XXX.— ANDRE  THE  VET,  1557. 

Thevet  does  not,  in  his  " Singularitez  de  la  France  Antaretique" 
1557,  allude  to  Verrazano's  voyage.  This  work  is  generally 
supposed  to  have  appeared  in  Paris  and  at  Antwerp,  1558,  but 
we  have  a  copy  with  the  imprint  Paris,  1557.  In  his  "  Gosmo- 
graphie  Universelle"  1575,  he  speaks  of  him,  but  only  from  the 
published  letter.  Thevet,  however,  is  a  poor  authority,  for  his 
statements  are  often  false,  and  his  omissions  many.  Jean  de 
Lery  does  not  hesitate  to  call  him  a  superlatively  impudent  liar. 


XXXI.— BELLEFOREST,  1570. 

Francois  de  Belleforest,  in  his  "  Histoire  TIniverselle  du  Monde" 
1570,  writing,  book  4,  about  the  New  Lands,  gives  details,  taken 
from  Ramusius,  concerning  Verrazan  (as  he  calls  him),  but  in  a 
marginal  note,  gives  the  correct  name,  Loise,  to  the  island  off  the 
coast,  which  Yerrazano  said  was  named  after  the  King's  mother. 
It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  he  had  any  map  of  the  explora 
tions  before  him,  while  he  expressly  adds  that  he  had  not  met 
with  any  other  account,  in  books,  concerning  the  Florentine, 
except  in  his  Memoir -,  meaning  the  letter  to  the  King.  He 
appears  to  have  misunderstood  Ramusius,  for  the  death  of  Verra- 
zano  is  noted  by  him  as  having  occurred  about  the  year  1524. 


XXXII.  — ITALIAN  VERSIONS   OF   THE   HEADING   TO 
THE  LETTER. 

I.    Extracted  from  Collections  New  York  Historical  Society,  New  Series,  Vol.  I,  1841,  p.  55. 
Punctuated  from  Greene's  quotation  in  North  American  Review,  October,  1837,  p.  294. 

II  Capitano  Giovanni  da  Verraznano,  fiorentino  di  Normandia 
alia  Serenissima  corona  di  Francia  dice: 

Da  poi  la  fortuna  passata  nelle  spiagge  settentrionale,  Sermo 
Signore,  non  scrissi  a  vostra  serenissima  et  cristianissima  Maesta, 


COSMOGRAPHICAL  PORTION  OF  THE   LETTER.  113 

quello  che  era  seguito  delli  quattro  legni,  che  quella  mandd  per 
lo  oceano  ad  inscoprir  nuove  terre,  pensando  di  tutto  sia  stata 
certificata  come  dalle  impettiose  forze  de  venti  fummo  constretti, 
con  sola  la  nave  Normanda  e  Dalfina  affliti,  ricorrere  in  brettagna, 
dove  restaurati  avra  V.  S.  M.  inteso  il  discorso  facemmo  con 
quelle  armate  in  guerra  per  li  lidi  di  Spagna,  di  poi  la  nuova 
disposizione  con  sola  la  dalfina  in  seguire  la  prima  navigazione, 
dalla  quale  essendo  ritornato,  daro  adviso  a  V.  S.  M.  di  quello 
abbiamo  trovato. 

II.    Extracted  from  Ramusius,  Vol.  Ill,  1556,  fol.  420. 

Non  scrissi  a  V.  Maesta  CHRISTIANAS.  RE  dopo  la  fortuna 
havuta  nelle  parti  Settentrionali,  di  quanto  era  delle  quattro  Navi 
seguito,  da  V.  M.  mandate  a  discoprire  nuove  terre  per  1'Oceano, 
credendo  che  di  tal  successo  convenientemente  la  fosse  stata 
informata.  Hora  per  la  presente  le  daro  a  quella  notitia,  come 
dall'  impeto  de  venti  con  le  due  Navi,  Normanda,  &  Delfina, 
fummo  constretti  cosi  mal  conditionate  come  si  ritrovavano  scorrere 
nella  Bretagna.  dove  poi  che  furono  secondo  il  bisogno  racconciate, 
&  ben  armegiatte,  per  i  liti  di  Spagna  ce  nandammo  in  corso.  il 
che  V.  M.  havera  inteso  per  il  profitto  che  ne  facemmo.  Dipoi 
con  la  Delfina  sola  si  fece  deliberatione  scoprir  nuovi  paesi,  per 
non  lasciar  imperfetta  la  gia  minciata  navigatione:  II  che  intendo 
hora  a  Yostra  Maesta  raccontare,  accioche  di  tutto  il  successo  sia 
consapevole. 


XXXIIL— COSMOGRAPHICAL  PORTION  OF  THE 
LETTER. 

[  1.]  It  remains  for  me  to  narrate  to  your  Majesty  the  order 
of  the  said  navigation  as  regards  cosmography.  As  above  said, 
starting  from  the  before  mentioned  rocks,  which  are  placed  on 
the  bounds  of  the  West  as  known  to  the  ancients,  and  from  the 
meridian  drawn  through  the  Fortunate  Islands,  in  32  degrees  of 
latitude  from  the  equator  of  our  hemisphere,  sailing  to  the  West, 
unto  the  first  land,  we  found  1,200  leagues,  which  contain  4,800 
miles,  counting  four  miles  per  league  according  to  maritime  usage. 
15 


1  I  .I  NOTKN  ON  THK   VHHKAXANO  MAI'. 

|  The  following  passages  are  obscure,  HIM!  we  have  paraphrased 

tin-in  :is  \\«-  understand  them.) 

|  *J.  |  The  proportion  Hj  of  the  diameter  to  the  circle,  would 
make  llx1  above  distance  924SSi  degrees,  in  lat.  JM  degrees,  that 
of  the  land  first  discovered  l>y  us.  The  chord  or  diameter  of  a 
great  circle  [of  ;{<>o|  being  1  1  I,'/,  |  ,",?],  would  make  this  l>5^i|  de 
grees  at  the  equator,  in  decrees  of  (V2j  miles  each,  as  fixed  by 
many  who  have  determined  it.  Thus  we  have  1  H7f>J)JM  miles  |in 
lat.  ;<4°|  which,  divi<led  by  W>0,  makes  each  degree  in  hit.  .'M" 
equal  to  «r)'2,Kn"  milcH.  llesidcs  this,  we  have  reckoned  that  1,200 
leagues  in  a  straight  line  from  West  to  Kast,  iVom  I  he  meridian 
of  those  rocks,  which  are  in  lat.  it'2"  to  lat.  :M"  would  also  ^'ivo 
those  N'24}Sii  do^rcrs,  and  thus  inucli  inoi'e  have  we  sailed  to  the 
West  than  was  known  to  the  ancients. 

| ;{.  |  This  distance  was  noted  by  us  as  to  longitude  with  various 
instruments)  sailing  without  lunar  eclipses  or  other  observation 
for  the  movement  of  the  sun.  Seeking  always  the  height  [of  the 
sun  |  at  the  time  that  was  proper,  the  ship  was  run  geometrically 
[the  distance  estimated),  by  the  diil'd'ence  between  the  |  midday] 
horizons,  the  interval  from  one  meridian  to  the  other  being  fully 
noted  in  a  little  book,  together  with  the  rise  of  the  sea  | current- 1  in 
every  climate  at  dilleivnt  times  or  hours,  which,  we  think,  will 
not  prove  useless  to  navigation.  With  the  best  wishes  lor 
|  advancing  |  learning,  I  present  it  to  your  Majesty. 

|  l.|  My  intention  was  to  reach  [j90Tt?6n$V0]  by  this  navigation 
to  Cathay,  in  the  extreme  east  of  Asia,  expecting  |ho\\c\cr|  to 
meet  with  new  land  such  as  was  found  as  an  obstacle,  but  I  had 
reason  to  suppose  that  it  was  not  hopeless  to  penetrate  to  the 
eastern  ocean.  This  opinion  was  held  by  all  the  ancients,  and  it 
was  positively  believed  ascertain  that  our  ocean  was  one  and  the 
same  as  the  eastern  one  of  India,  without  any  interposition  of 
land.  Aristotle  affirms  this,  arguing  by  various  comparisons, 
which  opinion  is  much  opposed  to  the  modern  one,  and  by  expe 
rience  proved  false,  because  land  is  already  found,  unknown  to 
those  ancients,  another  world  as  regards  the  one  known  to  them. 
It  appears  really  to  show  itself  to  be  larger  than  our  Kurope, 
Africa,  and  even  Asia,  if  we  rightly  judge  of  the  si/e  of  it,  as  I 
will  briefly  show  it  in  a  short  discourse  to  your  Majesty. 

[5.]     The  Spaniards  have  sailed  on  a  meridian  20S*  degrees 


CoMMOOMArmCAL  PORTION  OF  THE  LKTTKR.         \  \  f> 

\Vr  st  of  the  Fortunate  Islands,  towards  the  South,  to  54  d*"_ 

rhj  beyond  the  equator,  where  they  fonnd  the  land  without 
a  termination;  then  taming  North  to  the  equinoctial,  following 
the  shore  to  8  degrees  from  the  equator,  then  [the  land  ran]  more 
to  the  West,  inclining  to  the  North  [N.  W.J  as  the  said  meridian 
runs,  the  shore  continuing  to  2J  degrees  [N.  lat.],  finding  no  end 
to  it.  They  have  sailed  89^  degrees,  which,  added  to  the  2f/]££ 
[comp.  ante],  make  110jJ?S  degrees,  and  so  much  they  have  sailed 
more  to  the  West,  from  the  said  meridian  of  the  Fortunate 
Islands,  in  the  parallel  of  21  degrees  of  latitude.  This  distance 
has  not  been  verified  by  us,  not  having  made  this  navigation.  It 
may  vary  a  little  more  or  !<•««.  We  have  calculated  it  geometri 
cally  from  the  notices  of  many  nautical  men  who  are  familiar 
with  it,  who  affirm  that  it  is  1,600  leagues,  judging  by  the  esti 
mate  of  the  ran  of  the  vessel  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
wind.  In  the  succeeding  voyage  I  hope  that,  in  a  short  time,  we 
shall  have  farther  prool  On  the  other  hand,  we  in  this  our 
navigation  made  by  your  Majesty's  order,  besides  the  92  degrees 
which  we  made  from  the  said  meridian  towards  the  West,  to  the 
first  land  found  in  34  degrees,  sailed  300  leagues  to  the  East  and 
400  league*  to  the  North,  the  shore  of  the  land  continuing  to  the 
East,  until  we  reached  50  degree*, 

[6.]     We  left  the  land  which  in  past  times  was  found  by  the 

\'    'uguese,  which  they  followed  farther  to  the  north,  reaching 

to  the  Arctic  Circle,  leaving  its  termination  unknown.    Therefore, 

pTitting  the  Northern  with  the  Southern  latitude,  that  is  the  54 

<-*es  with  the  66  degrees,  they  make  120  degrees,  which  is 

more  than  is  contained  in  the  latitude  of  Africa,  and  Europe. 

For  measuring  from  the  extreme  of  Europe,  which  are  the  limits 

of  Norway  standing  in  latitude  71  degrees  [71°  1STJ,  to  the  extreme 

of    Africa,   which    is    the  Cape   of  Good   Hope  in   latitude  35 

.  rees  [34*  51',  both  nearly  correct],  it  only  makes  106  degrees. 

If  the  breadth  of  the  said  land  corresponds  in  proportion  with 

.aritime  front,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  it  exceeds  the 

of  Asia.     In  such  a  shape  we  find  the  globe  of  the  earth, 

much  larger  than  it  was  held  to  be  by  the  ancients,  contradicting 

the  mathematicians  in  regard  to  the  sea  being  smaller,  for  we 

have  seen  the  contrary  by  our  own  experience,  and  as  to  its  land 

area,  this  i«,  we  judge,  not  less  than  that  of  the  water.    As  things 


ll(j  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

appear,  I  have  better  hope  and  with  more  reason  to  exhibit  to  youi 
Majesty  all  this  new  land  or  new  world  of  which  we  have  de 
scribed  the  size  as  above.  We  know  that  Asia  joins  Africa,  and 
are  certain  that  it  is  united  with  Europe  by  Norway  and  Russia, 
and  thus  know  that  it  is  false,  according  to  the  ancients,  that 
they  could  have  sailed  from  the  promontory  of  the  Cimbri  to  the 
the  eastward  along  the  whole  north  reaching  to  the  Caspian  Sea. 
They  likewise  [falsely]  affirmed  that  it  [the  world]  was  enclosed 
between  two  seas  only,  situated  to  the  East  and  West,  and  that 
these  two  did  not  meet  each  other,  for  beyond  54  degrees  from 
the  equator,  towards  the  South  [the  land]  extends  to  the  east 
through  a  great  space,  and  to  the  North,  passing  beyond  66 
degrees,  turning  then  towards  the  East  till  it  reaches  70  degrees. 

I  hope  to  have  within  a  brief  period  more  certainty  about  it, 
with  the  assistance  of  your  Majesty,  whom  may  the  omnipotent 
God  favor  with  lasting  glory,  in  order  that  we  may  see  the  best 
results  of  this  our  cosmography  accomplished  in  the  holy  words 
of  the  Evangel. 

On  the  ship  Delfina  in  Normandy,  in  the  port  of  Dieppe,  the 
8th  of  July,  1524. 

Humilis  servitor, 

JANUS  VERRAZANUS. 


XXXIV.— NOTES  ON  THE  COSMOGRAPHICAL  PORTION 
OF  THE  LETTER. 

1.  This  cosmographical  appendix,  if  entirely  the  work  of 
Yerrazano,  shows  him  to  have  been  well  versed  in  the  Cosmo- 
graphical  knowledge  of  the  time.  He  had  probably  acquired  all 
the  cotemporary  information  that  was  to  be  had  from  the  imper 
fect  treatises  on  the  sphere  by  Ptolemy,  Sacro  Bosco,  Apianus, 
Gemma  Frisius  and  others,  that  were  studied  then. 

The  first  regular  treatise  on  Navigation  was  that  of  Raymond 
Lullius  of  1294.  Pigafetta,  the  companion  of  Magellan,  com 
posed  a  small  one  about  1530,  and  Francisco  Falero  wrote  on  the 
longitude;  but  the  first  works  of  general  authority  on  this  subject 
were  Pedro  de  Medina's  Arte  de  Ndvegar,  of  1545,  and  Martin 


COSMOGRAPHICAL  PORTION  OF  THE  LETTER.  \  \  7 

Cortes'  of  1551,  which  were  eagerly  translated  into  other  lan 
guages. 

2.  The  proportion  of  114ft  [11 496!  misprint]  to  360,  which  he 
seems  to  assume  as  the  ratio  of  the  diameter  to  the  circumference, 
is  a  convenient  but  not  very  correct  one,  as  it  fails  on  the  third 
decimal.*  The  curious  proportion  discovered  by  Metius  of  113 
to  355  [11,  33,  55;  so  easily  remembered],  is  correct  to  the  sixth 
decimal.  However,  he  assumes  an  equatorial  degree  to  be  62^ 
Italian  miles,  or  15.625  leagues,  and  thus  finds  that  in  latitude  34° 
it  would  measure  about  5  2^  miles,  which  is  nearly  true,  for  it 
would  be  exactly  5lto  815. 

At  60  geographical  miles  to  a  degree,  in  latitude  39°,  the  de 
gree  of  longitude  is  46  m  63;  in  latitude  41°  30',  44m  94,  and  in 
latitude  44°,  43m  16. 

It  will  be  observed  that  he  assumes  to  have  sailed  92^  degrees 
from  Madeira  to  the  coast  of  America.  On  his  estimate  of  62^ 
miles  to  a  degree  at  the  equator,  and  that  in  latitude  34°  a  degree 
will  contain  52.22  miles,  he  makes  his  voyage  to  have  been  4,804 
miles.  This  is  a  great  overestimate,  for  there  are  only  46°  36' 
great  circle  degrees  from  Madeira  to  Cape  May.  This  equals 
2,433  of  his  miles,  or  2,796  nautical  miles,  for  the  true  distance 
from  Madeira  to  Cape  May.  He,  of  course,  knew  nothing  of  great 
circle  sailing, f  and  steered  as  due  west  from  Madeira  as  possible, 
and  the  storm,  with  deviations  from  his  course,  may  have  made 
his  voyage  perhaps  one-third  longer,  say  3,244  of  his  miles,  or 
3,728  nautical  miles. 

On  the  chart  of  1529,  the  difference  of  longitude  between 
Madeira  and  his  landfall  is  only  63°,  therefore  much  less  than  this 
estimate,  but  no  measurement  is  possible  or  charts  of  that  pro 
jection.  However,  adopting  as  a  scale  the  Spanish  estimate  of 
750  leagues  from  the  Canaries  to  the  Windward  Islands,  the 

*  Archimedes  showed  that  the  proportion  was  comprised  between  3  10-70 
and  3  10-71.  Verrazano  uses  the  first  fraction. 

f  Pedro  Nunez,  or  Nonnius,  the  inventor  of  the  scale  for  reading  subdi 
visions  of  small  lines  and  arcs,  first  proved  in  1537  that  oblique  rhumb  lines 
are  spirals.  Great  circle  or  middle  latitude  sailing  was  first  introduced  in 
1623. 

The  log  line  invented  by  Bourne  in  1577,  was  not  generally  used  until  long 
afterwards. 


118  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

chart  would  make  his  voyage  half  as  much  more,  say  1125  Spanish 
leagues  of  17^-  to  a  degree. 

Some  correction,  therefore,  of  his  estimate  was  made  by  him 
self  or  by  the  mapmaker  on  the  chart.  This  is  proved  by  an 
inspection  of  it,  for  the  difference  of  longitude  between  the  Can 
aries  and  Guadalupe  is  given  as  43°,  being  very  near  the  real 
difference,  41°  11'.  The  difference  of  longitude  between  Ireland 
and  Newfoundland  is  drawn  as  31°,  the  truth  being  28'  04. 

3.  He  says  that  no  eclipse  occurred  during  his  voyage.     In 
1523,  there  was  an  eclipse  of  the  moon,  March  1;  total;  8  p.  M., 
Paris  time;  but  in  1524  the  only  one  was  February  19,  f  digits, 
at  11^  A.  M.     In  the  position  he  was  then  in,  this  slight  obscura 
tion  happened  just  before  sunrise  and  could  not  be  observed.     In 
1525  there  was  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun,  at   3   p.   M.,   Jan.    23, 
which  he  would  have  observed  if  the  voyage  had  been  made  in 
that  ye^r.     His  statement  fixes  the  date  of  the  voyage  as  of  1524. 

He  estimated  the  longitude,  as  he  says,  by  a  reckoning  from 
day  to  day.  As  he  was,  of  course,  not  aware  of  the  strong  cur 
rent  known  as  the  Gulf  stream,  he  was  carried  much  more  to  the 
north  than  he  expected.  The  little  book  he  speaks  of,  which 
must  have  been  a  kind  of  log-book,  is  lost. 

4.  His  intention,  like  that  of  Columbus,  Cabot,  Cortereal  and 
others,  was  to  discover  a  seaway  to  Asia,  and  he  must  have  been 
keenly  disappointed  at  his  failure  to  find  a  strait  leading  in  that 
direction.     He  appears  to  have  heard  of  Ayllon's  voyage  in  1520, 
from  his  evident  desire  to  make  land  in  latitude  34°,  and  was  well 
informed  concerning  Terra  Nova,  but  the  unexplored  gap  offered 
a  last  hope  for  discovery,  which  was  frustrated. 

This  short  passage  about  Cathay  embodies  a  volume  of  thought 
which  is  left  unrecorded.  It  was  a  fate  that  other  noble  adven 
turers  before  and  since  have  bowed  to,  while  the  search  for  a 
seaway,  even  an  impracticable  one,  is  still  a  goal  for  ambitious 
spirits. 

The  wonderful  tales  about  the  Grand  Khan  had  led  Columbus 
to  the  discovery  of  the  western  Indies,  which  turned  out  to  be 
auriferous,  and  Cortes  had  lit  upon  a  barbarous  empire,  whose 
riches  were  much  exaggerated,  making  men  think  that  the  New 
World  was  perhaps  the  equal  or  perhaps  a  part  of  that  fabled 
Cathay,  first  described  by  Carpini  and  Rubruquis. 


COSMOGRAPHICAL  PORTION  OF  THE  LETTER. 

It  was  natural,  therefore,  to  suppose  that  other  rich  empires 
might  be  found  in  these  regions,  and  this  caused  Hernando  de 
Soto,  in  1539-42,  to  seek  for  one  in  the  vast  and  unknown  land 
known  as  Florida. 

5.  The  remarks  on  Magellan's  voyage,  if  penned  in  1524,  prove 
that  he  was  well  informed  on  that  subject.     The  first  circumnavi 
gation  of  the  globe  was  completed  by  the  return  of  the  Vittoria, 
under  Sebastian  El  Cano,  September  7,  1522.     Peter  Martyr  at 
once  prepared  an  account  of  the  voyage,  which  was  sent  to  the 
Pope,  but  it  was  lost  at  Rome  in  the  riots  of  1527,  and  no  copy 
of  it  is  now  known.     The  first  printed  account  of  it,  as  prepared 
by  Maximilian  of  Transylvania,  secretary  of  the  Emperor,  in  the 
form  of  a  letter,  addressed  to  the  Archbishop  of  Salzburg,  dated 
Valladolid,  October  24, 1522,  appeared  in  Rome,  November,  1523, 
and  again  in  February,  1524. 

Verrazano,  in  January,  1524,  could  hardly  have  seen  this  before 
sailing,  but  may  have  read  it  after  his  return.  Among  the 
various  papers  taken  by  him,  before  1524,  from  Spanish  prizes, 
he  may  have  learned  of  the  departure  of  Magellan,  and  had, 
perhaps,  conversed  with  some  of  the  companions  of  Gomez,  and 
of  El  Cano. 

His  expression,  therefore,  "  that  he  had  calculated  the  distances 
sailed  by  Magellan,  from  the  observations  of  many  navigators" 
proves  him  either  to  have  been  very  well  informed  about  that 
voyage,  or  else  that  the  appendix  was  written  some  time  after 
the  date  of  the  letter  itself.* 

The  300  leagues  run  northwardly,  and  400  eastwardly,  along  the 
coast,  make  up  the  700  spoken  of  at  the  close  of  the  letter.  He 
does  not  mean  that  he  sailed  700  leagues  along  the  coast,  but 
that  by  rhumbs  he  had  estimated  the  coasts  discovered  to  be  500 
leagues,  and  that  his  latitudes  and  departures  made  up  700. 

By  his  own  estimate,  therefore,  supposing  his  leagues  to  mean 
miles  of  about  60  to  the  degree,  he  had  run  five  degrees  of  lati 
tude,  and  about  eight  degrees  (of  fifty  miles  each)  of  longitude. 
This  is  very  near  the  probable  extent  of  his  range. 

6.  By  the  explorations  as  far  as  the  Arctic  Circle,  made  by  the 
Portuguese,  he  alludes  to  the  discovery  of  Greenland  by  them, 


*  Compare,  however,  with  Carlis'  letter,  who,  in  1524,  refers  to  it. 


120  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

a  fact  which  is  now  admitted,  for  Gaspar  Cortereal  no  doubt 
sighted  it  in  1500,  and  it  was  represented  on  the  early  Portuguese 
charts  as  Terra  del  laboratore,  or  Terra  Corterealis,  though  this 
first  name  is  now  restricted  in  its  application.  We  have  good 
reason  to  believe  that  Newfoundland,  under  the  name  of  Isla 
Verde  and  Man  de  /Satan,  was  known  and  visited  by  the  Portu 
guese  as  early  as  1445,  and  soon  afterwards  by  the  Bretons,  but 
that  question  cannot  be  discussed  here. 

Verrazano's  speculations  on  the  extent  of  the  New  World  is 
the  first  one  of  its  kind,  and  as  an  original  suggestion  is  very 
remarkable.  He  does  not  distinctly  aver  his  belief  in  the  separa 
tion  of  Asia  from  America,  but  infers,  from  the  fact  that  the 
three  great  divisions  of  the  Old  World  are  joined  together,  that 
America  may  be  also  joined  to  them.  By  the  land  of  the  South 
ern  Hemisphere,  he  designates  the  land  left  to  the  south  by 
Magellan,  which,  until  the  actual  doubling  of  Cape  Horn  by 
Cornelison  Schouten,  of  Horn  in  Holland,  in  1619,  was  considered 
as  a  vast  continental  land,  and  was  represented  on  maps  as 
extending  entirely  around  the  Antarctic  regions,  in  about  latitude 
50  to  60  deg.  south.  The  Spaniards  soon  discovered  the  insular 
nature  of  the  Terra  del  Fuego,  but  did  not  publish  this  fact,  and 
Sir  Francis  Drake,  in  October,  1578,  had  done  the  same,  calling 
its  most  southern  cape  Terra  nunc  bene  cognita.  Schouten's 
name,  however,  was  the  most  widely  published,  and  has  thus 
remained  attached  to  it. 


XXXV.— EXAMINATION    OF    THE    VOYAGE    ACROSS 
THE  ATLANTIC. 

He  was  25  days  making  the  three-fifths  of  his  voyage  or  1200 
leagues  of  the  2000  that  he  estimated  the  whole  to  be,  and  was 
sailing  due  West.  This  without  allowance  for  currents  or  devia 
tions  from  his  course  would  place  him  in  long.  55  deg.  on  the 
llth  of  February. 

From  this  point  he  followed  a  rather  more  Northwardly  course, 
doing  so  from  a  desire  probably  to  avoid  the  coast  explored  by 
the  Spaniards,  which  as  he  must  have  known,  had  reached  to  lat. 


VOYAGE  ACKOSS  THE  ATLANTIC. 

34  deg.,  for  he  connects  them  with  his  own  on  the  Map.  He  was 
also  forced,  as  we  shall  show,  to  follow  such  a  course  by  the  Gulf 
stream,  of  which  he  apparently  knew  nothing. 

From  long.  55  deg.  to  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Gulf  stream, 
which  in  winter  lies  in  long.  05,  on  the  parallel  of  33  deg.  30  min., 
he  may  not  have  drifted  much  out  of  his  course,  though  he 
encountered  a  gale  on  the  14th  of  February  that  may  have  driven 
him  to  the  South  of  it.  But  in  crossing  the  Gulf  stream  from 
long.  65  deg.  to  74  deg.,  he  was  exposed,  for  at  least  12  days,  out 
of  the  25,  which  he  occupied  in  running  the  latter  two-fifths  of 
his  voyage,  to  its  influence.  Its  greatest  velocity  is  here  about 
1^  to  2  miles  an  hour,  but  allowing  only  1 J  miles  as  its  average 
set,  he  would  have  drifted  in  these  12  days  just  360  miles  to  the 
Northward.  These  six  degrees  would  carry  him  North  of  lat. 
33  deg.  30  min.,  the  point  where  he  probably  first  entered  the 
stream,  and  place  his  landfall  in  39  deg.  30  min.,  as  we  make  it. 
He  must  therefore  have  passed  the  Bermudas  in  lat.  35  deg.  (they 
lying  in  32  deg.  20  min.)  or  160  miles  North  of  them.  This  is 
but  a  moderate  allowance  for  his  drift  by  the  Gulf  stream,  and 
we  do  not  see  how  he  could  have  made  our  coast  in  a  lower  lati 
tude. 

This  Northwesterly  drift  caused  a  vessel  seeking  our  coast, 
with  the  Pilgrim  fathers,  a  century  later,  to  land  far  to  the  North 
of  the  point  aimed  at,  and  planted  on  the  rocky  shores  of  New 
England  a  colony  designed  to  have  been  established  very  near 
the  point  where  Verrazano  sighted  it  in  1524. 

The  voyage  may  therefore  be  summed  up  as  follows. 

January  17  to  February  11 — 25  days  due  West — 1200  leagues 
by  his  estimate,  or  three-fifths  of  whole  distance,  in  fact  1700  geog. 
miles  of  60  to  the  degree. 

February  11,  in  long.  55  deg.,  lat.  32-J  deg.,  steers  a  little  N.  of 
W. — on  the  14th  encounters  a  storm,  February  18th  enters  the 
Gulf  Stream  in  lat.  33|  deg.,  long.  65,  leaving  it  March  4th  in 
long.  74,  lat.  39  deg.  and  making  land  March  7.  The  distance 
sailed  since  February  11,  25  days,  being  estimated  by  him  as  800 
leagues,  probably  1150  geog.  miles. 

The  great  circle  distance,  the  shortest  possible  one  between  his 
point  of  departure  and  arrival,  is  2796  nautical  miles,  as  noted 
elsewhere,  but  by  the  courses  he  followed,  his  track,  which  is 
16 


122  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

much  to  the  south  of  that,  cannot  therefore  have  been  less  than 
2850  nautical  miles,  and  was  no  doubt  much  longer. 


XXXVI.— THOMASSY. 

Les  Papes  Geographes  et  la  Cartographic  du  Vatican.     Par  M.  R.  Thomassy.    Paris,  1852. 
8vo.,  pp.  140.    Extrait  ttes  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages,  1852. 

After  an  interesting  and  carefully  prepared  essay  on  early 
chartography  and  the  progress  of  Geographical  knowledge  during 
the  middle  age,  the  author  describes  the  topographical  frescoes 
on  the  walls  of  the  galleries  of  the  Vatican,  and  in  an  appendix 
notices  a  few  of  the  most  remarkable  documents  of  the  same 
kind,  preserved  in  the  Collegia  de  Propaganda  Fide  on  the  Piazza 
di  Spagna.  This  College  was  founded  in  1622  by  Gregory  XV, 
during  his  two  years'  Papacy,  for  the  purpose  of  educating  foreign 
students  as  missionaries.  Its  printing  office,  established  by  his 
successor  Urban  VIII,  (1623-44)  who  caused  its  present  building 
to  be  erected,  is  able  to  produce  books  in  every  known  written 
character. 

The  geographical  documents  gathered  here  are  from  the  col 
lection  of  Cardinal  Stefano  Borgia  and  are  collectively  known  as 
the  Museo  Borgiana.  Mons.  Thomassy  describes  in  the  appendix 
to  his  essay,  sixteen  of  these,  including  the  great  bronze  enam 
elled  planisphere  of  the  first  half  of  the  fifteenth  century,  of 
unknown  authorship,  and  of  which  an  account  was  published  by 
the  Cardinal  in  1797. 

The  next  article,  pages  112-115,  describing  one  of  the  drawn 
maps,  is  the  one  that  interests  us  especially.  We  extract  the 
chief  points  relating  to  it. 

"This  planisphere  is  on  a  roll  of  parchment  (three  skins  joined)  2  metres 
60  centim.  long,  and  1  metre  30  centim.  wide. 

"  It  is  a  marine  chart,  bearing  on  its  back  in  a  modern  hand  the  meaning 
less  title  :  Carta  pecora  di  una  gran  parte  del  mondo  "  (a  parchment  map  of  a 
great  part  of  the  world). 

"  On  the  upper  part  one  reads  Hieronimus  de  Verrazano  faciebat." 

4'  The  date  may  be  deduced  from  the  following  inscriptions.  Under  the 
word  Nova  Gallui  sive  Jucatanet,  is  found:  Verrazano  sive  Nova  Gallia,  quale 
discopri,  5  anni  fa,  Giovanni  da  Verrazano  fiorentino,  per  wdine,  e  comman 
damento  del  cristianesimo  re  di  Francia." 


DKNCK/PTJON  OF  THE  MAPAMUNDI  OF  VEKKAZANO. 

Mr.  ThomAMy  adds  that,  "as  the  letter  in  Uamusius  in  dated 
1523  or  1524  this  would  give  to  the  Map  the  date  of  1528."  (The 
date  of  the  letter  is  however,  most  distinctly  1524,  which  places 
the  Map  in  the  year  1529.) 

"  The  prime  meridian  passes  near  the  Island  of  Ferro,  which  is  in  hit.  27° 
and  some  minutes." 

"The  equator  parses  through  the  Island  of  Ht.  Thomas,  the  straits  of 
Sunda  and  the  mouth  of  the  Ama/on  Jliver." 

"This  Jerome,  author  of  the  map,  must  have  been  a  relative  and  veiy 
probably  the  brother  of  Giovanni,  who  wrote  th'j  letter  to  Francis  I." 

lie  quotes,  to  support  this  opinion,  the  hitter  of  Annihale  (/arc, 
elsewhere  mentioned,  and  says  that  Tintboschi  speaks  of  this 
brother,  otherwise  unknown,  not  naming  him,  but  as  one  well 
versed  in  geography. 

A  copy  of  the  scale  is  then  given,  and  he  proceeds  to  describe 
some  features  of  the  Map. 

"At  c.  de  Bretton  the  shield  and  ermines  of  Brittany  are  seen,  and  North 
east  of  this,  Terra  labofCVtorit,  Quanta  terra  fu  dixcoperta  da  Inyldlexi,  the 
most  northern  point  in  this  direction." 

"  In  the  East  it  ends  with  the  Innule  Meluco  and  Borneo.'1''  (Burnei.) 
"On  the  meridian  of  the  Moluccas  is  seen  the  Gulf  of  Canton,  with  the 
legend :  In  quento  Golfo  di  Caitan,  titan  le  navi  eke  vengono  d1  India,  a  quentc 
reyioiii,  del  (Jantaio."  (Of  Cathay.) 

After  indicating  some  European  and  African  points,  he  closes 
his  description  thus  : 

"Terra  del  Fuego  is  vaguely  drawn  as  the  beginning  of  an  extensive 
Australian  continent.  All  the  western  shores  of  North  America  are  want 
ing"  (except  about  the  Isthmus)  "and  are  designated  only  with  TRUHK 
INCOGNITK.  Finally  Greenland  is  not  shown  at  all,  in  which  point  this  Map 
difl'ers  from  others  of  this  date." 


XXXVII.— DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    MAPAMUNDI    OF 
HIEKONIMUS   DE  VEIUIAZANO. 

The  interesting  rnapamundi  drawn  by  Ilieronirnus  de  Verra/ano, 
which  is  now  preserved  in  the  Museo  Borgiana  at  the  Collegio  de 
Propaganda  Fide  in  Rome,  and  to  which  attention  was  first 
drawn  by  MODS.  Thornassy  in  1852,  is  not  accompanied  by  any 


124  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

record  of  its  history  prior  to  its  ownership  by  the  late  Cardinal 
Stephano  Borgia.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  Cardinal  himself 
should  not  have  noticed  its  value  as  a  document  confirming  the 
discovery  of  a  portion  of  the  American  coast  by  an  Italian,  for 
he  was  an  intelligent  judge  in  such  matters,  and  the  owner  of 
several  other  geographical  monuments,  of  which  two  have  been 
specially  described. 

One  of  these  was  a  Cufic  celestial  globe  of  copper,  made  in  the 
year  622  of  the  Hegira  (A.  D.  1225),  which  was  described  by 
Simon  Assernann  in  1790.  The  other  was  a  bronze  circular  table, 
twenty-seven  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  map  of  the  world 
engraved  in  niello,  made  at  the  beginning  of  the  15th  century.* 
The  Cardinal,  in  1794,  corresponded  with  the  learned  De  Murr, 
author  of  a  life  of  Martin  Behaim,  on  the  subject  of  this  map, 
and  his  nephew,  Camillo,  printed  an  account  of  it,  for  private 
circulation,  with  a  full  sized  copy  of  it,  in  1797.  It  was  again 
described  and  copied  by  Heeren  in  1808,  and  Santarem  in  1852, 
and  several  treatises  on  it  in  manuscript  are  preserved  in  the 
Museum. 

As  regards  the  time  when  the  Cardinal  became  the  owner  of 
the  Verrazano  chart  or  whence  he  procured  it,  we  can  furnish,  as 
above  stated,  no  information.  The  first  notice  of  it  appears  in 
a  letter  to  De  Murr,  dated  January  31st,  1795,  in  which  the 
Cardinal  informs  him  that  besides  the  two  geographical  monu 
ments  above  mentioned,  he  had  thirteen  maps  on  parchment, 
most  of  them  nautical  charts,  of  which  four  were  mapamundis. 
Among  these  he  enumerates  a  few,  one  of  which  he  speaks  of  in 
these  words:  "Altra  porta  il  nome  de  Girolamo  Verrazano, 
fratello  di  Giovanni,  che  scopri  una  parte  dall  America  Setten- 
trionale,  e  cosi  altre"  The  Cardinal  here  assumes  that  the  two 
Yerrazanos  were  brothers,  perhaps  from  the  passage  in  the 
letter  of  Annibale  Caro.  He  must  have  mentioned  this  map  in 
another  letter  to  De  Murr,  who,  in  giving  a  list  of  the  Cardinal's 
maps,  attaches  the  date  1528  to  its  title.  The  first  notice  of  the 
existence  of  the  Verrazano  map  was  published  at  Gotha,  in  1801, 
in  De  Murr's  revised  edition  of  his  life  of  Martin  Behaim,  which 
was  translated  by  Jansen  and  published  at  Paris  in  1802. 

*  See  Santarem :  Gosmographw  du  Moyen  Age,  III,  247. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MAPAMUNDI  OF  VERRAZANO.    L25 

The  Cardinal  was  secretary  of  the  Propaganda  for  eighteen 
years,  from  the  year  1770,  and  became  a  cardinal  in  1789,  dying 
at  Lyons  in  1804  (while  accompanying  the  Pope  to  Paris),  at  the 
age  of  73.  His  palace  atVelletri,  on  the  Via  Appia,  a  few  miles 
south  of  Rome,  was  a  complete  museum,  in  which  he  had  gathered 
together  works  of  art  of  every  description,  which  were  freely 
exhibited  to  visitors  and  students.  He  bequeathed  the  collection 
to  the  Propaganda,  but  it  does  not  appear  to  have  been  imme 
diately  removed  to  Rome,  for  Lord  Kingsborough  refers  to  a 
valuable  Mexican  pictorial  manuscript  which  he  had  copied,  by 
Aglio,  about  1828,  for  his  great  work,  as  being  still  in  Velletri. 

We  cannot  here  furnish  farther  biographical  details  concerning 
this  amiable  and  accomplished  prelate,  which  may  be  found  in 
the  eulogies  of  him  published  shortly  after  his  decease.*  Of 
these,  one  may  be  cited  as  containing  a  short  description  of  his 
museum,  in  which  there  is  a  second  mention  of  the  map  we  are 
describing.  This  was  penned  by  the  learned  Cancellieri,  author 
of  the  Notizie  di  Colombo,]  who,  in  1802,  was  appointed  director 
of  the  printing  office  of  the  Propaganda,  and  it  was  printed  in 
several  forms  in  1805.  We  have  not  been  able  to  consult  this 
eulogy,  nor  one  of  the  same  date  by  the  P.  Paulino  de  S.  Bartol- 
ommeo,  his  intimate  companion  for  fourteen  years,  but  it  was 
doubtless  the  first  of  these  that  contains  the  notice  in  question. 

The  next  reference  to  it  is  to  be  found  in  Millin's  Magazin 

O 

Encyclopedique  (Vol.68)  for  March,  J807.     Mil  lin,  the  learned 

archaeologist,  corresponded  with  the  Cardinal  (who  was  a  contri 
butor  to  his  periodical),  and  published  a  short  biography  of  him, 
chiefly  made  up  from  the  above  eulogies,  at  the  close  of  which 
(page  25),  he  enumerates  a  few  of  the  most  precious  articles 
contained  in  his  museum.  Among  these,  four  maps  are  named, 
the  third  being  "  de  Jerome  de  Verrazano  Van  1528."  These 
short  references  appear  to  have  passed  unnoticed,  and  the  map 
was  left  in  repose  for  another  half  century,  until  examined  and 
briefly  described  by  Mons.  Thomassy  in  the  Nouvelles  Annales 
des  Voyages  for  1852.  J 

The  map  is  on  three  sheets  of  parchment,  and  according  to 

*  See  also  the  Biographie  Universelle.     f  Roma,  1809.    See  note  page  187. 
{Lelewel.  Geogr.  du  Moyen  Age,  1852,  Tom.  I.,  §256,  copies  De  Murr's 
notice  of  it. 


NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

Mons.  Thomassy  is  two  metres  6  cent,  long,  and  1  metre  30  cent, 
wide,  or  102^  by  51^  inches,  that  is,  the  length  is  twice  the  height. 
It  is  well  preserved,  being  somewhat  stained  near  both  ends,  but 
no  part  of  it  is  indistinct.  The  drawing  is  sharp  and  clear, 
though  the  reduced  photographs  before  us  have  not  been  taken 
with  sufficient  care  to  enable  the  smaller  text  to  be  deciphered. 
The  larger  photograph  is  *0  the  size  of  the  original  chart,  but  is 
very  indistinct;  the  smaller  one  is  ^  and  is  in  places  as  sharp 
and  distinct  as  could  be  desired,  but  in  others  is  quite  illegible. 
On  this  account  we  cannot  undertake  a  close  analysis  of  this 
interesting  document,  in  order  to  fix  its  date  more  positively,  or 
to  ascertain  what  materials  were  used  in  compiling  it. 

We  can,  however,  from  the  chart  itself,  determine  some  points 
that  connect  it  with  our  navigator.  It  is  the  work  of  an  Italian 
hydrographer  of  considerable  skill,  and  is  in  many  respects 
superior,  as  a  work  of  art,  to  any  Spanish  or  Portuguese  chart 
of  that  time.  The  designer  had  before  him  materials  such  as  no 
hydrographer  up  to  that  date  had  been  favored  with.  His 
draught  of  the  Spanish  coasts  of  America  appear,  however,  to  be 
from  a  different  pattern  than  those  used  by  Diego  Ribero  in  his 
chart  of  1529,  but  in  many  other  respects  it  is  much  in  advance 
of  it.  His  work  seems  to  include  and  embody  discoveries  made 
by  sea  up  to  the  year  1524,  the  date  of  Verrazano's  voyage.  No 
chart  outside  of  Spain  for  many  years  after  this  date  contains 
what  is  to  be  found  here.  The  voyage  of  Magellan,  the  discover 
ies  of  Cortes,  the  opening  of  the  East  Indies  by  the  Portuguese, 
are  all  laid  down  in  a  way  that  is  surprisingly  accurate,  and  lead 
to  the  conclusion  that  no  one  but  Verrazano  could  have  prepared 
it.  He  had  captured  charts  from  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese, 
had  conversed  with  the  sailors  of  the  discovery  vessels,  and  was 
thus  better  prepared  than  any  navigator  of  his  day  to  attempt  a 
general  resume  of  the  state  of  cosmographical  knowledge  then 
existing  in  Europe. 

The  projection  of  the  map  is  the  simple  cylindrical  square  one, 
in  which  all  the  degrees  of  latitude  are  made  equal  to  each  other 
and  to  the  equatorial  ones.  *  This  is  the  earliest  marine  projec- 

*  For  an  interesting  and  careful  analysis  of  the  projection  of  geographical 
maps,  see  Davesac;  Bulletin  de  Geographic,  5th  series,  Vol.  V,  1863,  p.  257. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MAPAMUNDI  OF  VERRAZANO.    127 

tion  of  which  we  have  any  record,  and  was  used  by  Mediterran 
ean  sailors  in  the  oldest  known  charts,  which,  however,  do  not 
reach  back  of  the  early  part  of  the  13th  century.  Had  the  sim 
ple  conic  Ptolemaic  projection  been  adopted  by  the  constructors 
of  such  charts  many  nautical  mistakes  would  have  been  avoided, 
and  navigators  would  have  made  shorter  voyages  from  point  to 
point. 

Like  most  of  the  maps  of  the  world  at  that  time,  it  has  the 
equator  drawn  below  the  middle  of  the  map,  and  shows  90°  of 
latitude  north  and  64°  south  of  it.  In  breadth  it  represents  about 
320°  of  longitude.  Its  western,  or  left,  side  is  45°  west  of  Temis- 
titan,  or  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  its  eastern,  or  right,  side  is  35° 
east  of  the  peninsula  of  Malacca.  There  is  no  graduation  for 
longitude,  but  the  meridians  that  cross  the  centres  and  sides  of 
the  two  great  circles  of  windroses  appear  to  be  drawn  seventy 
degrees  apart. 

Until  quite  a  recent  date  all  nautical  charts  were  covered  with 
a  net  work  of  cross  lines  radiating  from  windroses,  the  centres  of 
which  were  generally  symmetrically  arranged  to  suit  the  taste  of 
the  designer.  On  this  map  there  is  one  great  central  rose  in  N. 
lat.  16  deg.  in  the  western  part  of  Africa.  Two  great  circles  of 
roses,  140  deg.  in  diameter,  touch  each  other  at  this  point,  each 
circle  bearing  fifteen  other  and  smaller  roses,  equally  spaced 
around  their  circumference.  From  the  centres  of  each  great 
circle  and  of  each  rose  there  are  drawn  thirty  two  lines  to  each 
point  of  the  compass,  and  these  lines  are  prolonged  to  ttye  mar 
gin  of  the  Map.  This  construction  was  intended  to  facilitate  the 
pricking  out  of  a  ship's  course  on  the  chart  and  save  the  use  of 
a  protractor. 

The  lines  that  in  this  manner  appear  parallel  and  at  right 
angles  to  the  equator  are  not,  as  in  modern  charts,  parallels  and 
meridians.  The  tropic  lines  appear  with  their  names  on  the  map. 
The  meridian  that  passes  through  the  third  roses  from  the  great 
central  one,  on  the  left  great  circle,  is  divided  into  degrees  of 
latitude  of  equal  size,  each  one  numbered.  Close  to  the  upper 
margin  and  to  the  left  of  this  graduated  meridian  there  is  a  small 
scale  under  which  is  a  legend  explaining  that  from  point  to  point 
there  are  ten  leagues,  which  are  each  of  four  miles.  The  scale 
which  is  equal  to  18  deg.  of  latitude  in  length,  is  subdivided  into 


128  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

six  parts,  each  part  having  four  divisions  or  points.  This  gradu 
ated  meridian  lies  about  three  degrees  to  the  West  of  Iceland 
and  of  Africa,  passing  between  the  Canaries  and  Cape  Yerd 
Islands.  It  is  about  twelve  degrees  east  of  Cape  St.  Augustine 
in  South  America.  In  Ribero's  map  of  1529,  and  the  one  believed 
to  be  by  Hernando  Colon  of  1527,  as  also  in  others,  it  occupies 
the  same  position. 

Near  the  upper  margin  and  above  the  coast  explored  by  Verra- 
zano,  there  appears  written  in  small  Italian  capitals  HIERONIMUS 
DE  VERRAZANO  FACiEBAT,  the  last  word  being  below  the  others. 
There  is  no  date  written  anywhere,  but  it  is  assumed  to  be  of 
1529,  from  one  of  the  legends  on  the  coast  mentioned  below. 

Europe  is  well  represented,  excepting  Scandinavia,  which  last 
is  copied  from  the  Ptolemies  of  that  date.  Africa  is  remarkably 
well  drawn  and  its  coast  is  fringed  with  closely  set  names  and 
Portuguese  shields.  On  Madagascar  we  read  INSULA  SANCTI 
LAVRENTII  and  a  legend  near  Socotra.  The  Red  Sea  is  nearly  as 
large  as  the  Mediterranean,  but  without  a  fork  at  its  northern 
end.  The  Nile  takes  its  source  south  of  the  equator  from  two 
lakes.  The  Persian  gulf  is  nameless  and  Hindostan  with  Ceylon, 
are  shown  more  correctly  than  on  any  map  of  the  time  drawn 
outside  of  Portugal.  CAMBALV  is  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Indus, 
at  the  mouth  of  which  there  is  a  legend  of  four  lines.  At  the 
base  of  the  peninsula  appears  REGNO  DI  NARSINGA,*  described  at 
great  length  by  Duarte  Barbosa  in  1516.  Near  the  West  side 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Ganges  appears  Tarnasari  (Tenasserim). 
Further  south  a  church  with  a  steeple,  and  on  the  point  of  the 
peninsula  REGNO  DI  CALICUT.  On  the  island  is  ZAILON  INSULA, 
but  a  legend  near  it  is  illegible,  as  well  as  the  coast  names  on  the 
peninsula.  The  Maldive  Is.  are  indicated,  but  without  a  name. 
There  are  no  Portuguese  shields  on  the  coasts  of  India  or  Asia. 

The  peninsula  of  Malacca  is  represented  as  broader  and  longer 
than  the  Indian  one,  ending  close  to  the  equator,  and  in  longitude 
150  E.  of  the  above  mentioned  graduated  meridian,  or  180  deg. 
E.  of  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon  river  in  Brazil.  At  its  base  is 
REGNO  DI  BONGALA,  (Bengal,  much  displaced.)  Further  down  a 

*  Probably  from  Nahry  Sankar,  a  province  of  Thibet,  once  supposed  to 
be  the  place  where  many  rivers  of  Hindostan  had  their  source. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MAPAMUNDI  OF  VERRAZANO.    129 

huge  mountain  under  which  is  the  legend,  In  questo  montagna 
Se  trovano  e  diamante,  then  REGNO  DI  PEGU,  and  qui  se  trovano 
JRubis  in  gran  quantita,  then  a  city  and  under  it  MALACCA  and  a 
long  legend,  of  which  we  can  only  decipher  the  words  conquista 
i  portogesi  *  *  *  dispagloli. 

There  are  a  few  coast  names  on  the  west  and  some  unnamed 
islands  in  the  SINUS  GANGETICUS.  Southwest  of  Malacca  is  a  very 
large  Island  with  its  western  shore  ill  defined,  on  which  is  TAPRO- 
BANA  INSULA  sivE  SAMATRA,  with  no  coast  names.  The  eastern 
coast  is  quite  well  represented. 

S.  E.  of  Sumatra  two  smaller  nameless  islands  appear,  faintly 
traced,  and  a  group  of  very  small  ones  South  of  Malacca.  East 
of  the  two  unnamed  islands,  which  are  S.  of  the  equator,  there  is 
a  square  island,  smaller  still,  on  which  we  read  TIMOR,  and  there 
are  two  large  banks  with  small  islands  E.  and  N.  of  it.  N.  E.  of 
these,  on  the  equator,  is  a  group  of  seven  small  islands  marked 
Inside  maloques.  East  of  these  is  a  large  and  faintly  defined 
island  marked  BURXEI.  North  of  these  last,  and  nearer  to  the 
coast,  is  an  unnamed  group  intended  perhaps  for  the  Philippines. 

The  East  coast  of  Asia  is  from  the  Ptolemies  of  that  date  and 
it  would  be  useless  to  give  the  names  of  the  provinces  indicated, 
except  that  of  LACIXA  and  to  observe  that  a  legend  of  four  lines 
appears  in  a  gulf  North  of  it,  which  according  to  Thomassy 
reads  In  questo  golfo  di  caitan  stan  le  navi  che  vengono  d*  India 
a  queste  regioni  del  Gastaio. 

These  data  show  that  the  designer  of  the  Map  had  drawn  his 
information  from  the  most  recent  Portuguese  and  Spanish  sources, 
and  circulated  it  in  spite  of  a  prohibition  by  these  nations  against 
its  publication  under  penalty  of  death. 

The  following  dates  will  confirm  the  above  statement.  Lopez 
Sequeira  reached  Malacca  in  1509,  and  Alfonso  de  Alboquerque 
took  it  July  5,  1511,  and  sent  expeditions  to  Siam,  Tenasserim, 
Cingapoura  &c.  Anton  de  Abren  reached  the  Moluccas,  Pegu 
was  heard  of,  and  Sumatra  and  Java  were  visited  in  the  same 
year,  but  the  southern  coasts  and  general  conformation  of  these 
last  were  not  known  for  some  years  afterwards.  Simon  d'  Andrade 
in  1513,  first  visited  the  Maldives,  and  not  until  this  same  date 
did  Portuguese  vessels  navigate  the  Red  Sea  and  Persian  gulfs. 

Borneo,  already  mentioned  by  Ludovico  di  Varthema  as  Bornei, 
17 


130  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

was  first  reached  in  1513,  but  was  not  fully  explored.  On  the 
Map  it  is  placed  east  of  the  Moluccas.  In  1516  Ferdinand  Perez 
first  visited  China  at  Canton  by  sea,  and  sent  an  embassy  to  the 
Emperor.  In  the  same  year  Portuguese  vessels  sailed  to  the 
Ganges  and  in  1518  entered  Bengal. 

Luzon  of  the  Philippines  is  spoken  of  in  1511,*  but  was  proba 
bly  not  visited  till  later.  Celebes,  which  must  have  been  passed 
in  going  to  the  Moluccas,  though  known  to  Barbosa,  was  not 
officially  examined  until  1525  by  Garcia  Henriques.  New  Guinea 
was  discovered  by  Don  Jose  de  Menezes  in  1526.  The  Spaniards 
soon  began  their  explorations  also,  and  Verrazano  as  we  know, 
had  heard  of  the  return  of  El  Cano,  but  the  map  contains  notching 
in  this  portion  of  it  which  would  appear  to  have  resulted  from 
them.  Nor  does  it  contain  any  discoveries  made  by  the  Portu 
guese  after  1520. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  Eastern  portion  of  this  Map  to  prove 
that  Verrazano  had  been  there  in  person,  but  we  cannot  affirm 
this  positively.  It  seems  however,  in  regard  to  this  portion 
alone,  to  be  a  very  remarkable  document,  and  deserves  close 
study  on  the  part  of  those  who  can  best  appreciate  its  value. 
In  many  points  it  is  not  as  full  as  Diego  Ribero's  mapamundi  of 
1529,  as  described  by  Sprengel  in  1795.  Both  Verrazano  and 
Ribero  appear  to  have  used  Odoarte  Barbosa's  description  of 
Southern  Asia  prepared  in  1516,  of  which  several  manuscript 
copies  seem  to  have  been  in  circulation,  though  the  partly  incom 
plete  Italian  translation  given  by  Ramusius  in  his  first  volume, 
was  its  first  appearance  in  print.  Barbosa  had  been  to  the 
Moluccas  by  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  accompanied 
his  brother  in  law  Magellan,  on  his  voyage  in  the  other  direction. 
He  was  killed  by  the  side  of  Magellan  at  Matan,  being  the  first 
man  who  had  actually  circumnavigated  the  globe. 

Turning  to  the  Western  portion  of  the  Map,  that  is  the  part 
west  of  the  graduated  meridian,  there  is  much  to  interest  an 
American,  and  were  the  photographs  distinct,  and  the  coast 
names  at  all  legible,  we  might  examine  it  in  detail,  and  compare 

*  Barbosa  does  not  seem  to  have  heard  of  the  Philippines,  though  he 
mentions  Chanfa,  which  corresponds  to  Formosa,  and  the  Lequeos,  or 
Lieu-choo  Islands. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MAPAMUNDI  OF  VERRAZANO.    131 

it  with  the  well  known  chart  of  Diego  Ribero  of  the  same  date. 
The  coast  lines  vary  sufficiently  from  the  known  Spanish  charts 
of  that  date,  to  lead  one  to  suppose  that  Verrazano  copied  from 
a  pattern  map  unknown  to  us. 

In  some  parts  it  is  more  correct  than  Ribero's,  but  a  fatal 
error,  originating  perhaps  with  Columbus,  deforms  the  tropical 
portion  of  it  and  affects  the  parts  adjoining  these.  This  error 
arises  from  placing  the  Islands  of  Cuba,  Espanola  and  Jamaica, 
north  of  the  Tropic  of  Cancer.  The  whole  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
is  thus  displaced  about  six  or  seven  degrees  in  latitude  too  far 
northwardly.  The  northern  coast  of  Cuba  is  more  than  seven 
degrees  north  of  the  position  assigned  to  it  by  Ribero,  and  by 
modern  geographers. 

The  northern  coast  of  South  America  at  Santa  Marta  is  over 
five  degrees  out  of  place,  but  it  declines  thence  rapidly  to  the 
Eastward,  so  that  Trinidad  is  only  two  degrees  from  its  true 
position.  From  this  point  the  coast  resembles  Ribero's  map,  both 
of  them  being  deficient  in  not  exhibiting  the  prominence  formed 
by  the  Guiana's.  The  mouth  of  the  Amazon  is  directly  under 
the  equator.  The  Bahia  de  todos  los  Santos  is  placed,  as  it  ought 
to  be,  at  the  bottom  of  a  shallow  but  extended  depression  of  the 
coast  line,  not  indicated  in  Ribero's  map.  The  mouth  of  the  La 
Plata  river  is  correctly  shown  under  lat.  35  deg.  The  Strait  of 
Magellan  is  indicated,  but  not  with  the  same  accuracy  as  in 
Ribero,  and  the  south  shore  of  it  is  faintly  drawn  out  towards 
the  East  and  South  east,  two  thirds  of  the  way  towards  the 
graduated  meridian,  as  an  Antarctic  continent.  The  longitudes 
vary  but  little  from  Ribero's  chart. 

There  arc  numerous  coast  names  along  the  whole  continent, 
beginning  at  the  strait,  where  we  read  C.  delta  victoria,  and  so 
on,  but  many  of  them  differ  from  those  given  on  the  Spanish 
maps.  Four  Portuguese  shields  are  on  the  present  Brazil,  which 
;s  marked  TERRA  SANCTE  CRVCIS  and  VERZINO.  Four  small,  named 
Islands  are  in  the  ocean,  to  the  east  of  it.  A  legend  west  of  the 
La  Plata  reads  HicIIispani  gigant  II  *  *  y  appearing  incom 
plete. 

In  the  interior  of  the  continent  is  a  range  of  mountains,  run 
ning  east  and  west,  and  under  them  MUNDUS  NOVUS.  The  north 
ern  portion,  west  of  the  Maranon,  has  three  Spanish  shields. 


132  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

Under  the  coast  of  Caraccas  is  TERRA  AMERICA,  beneath  it 
DABAIBA,  and  to  the  right  under  the  Guiana's,  and  near  the  line, 
FARIAS. 

A  curious  feature  of  the  map  is  a  western  coast  line,  completing 
the  continent  from  the  strait  to  the  isthmus,  along  which  appears 
TERRA  INCOGNITA,  the  last  word  being  repeated.  There  is  no 
trace  of  Peru ;  the  name  of  which,  with  a  long  legend,  is  found 
in  Ribero's  but  not  on  Colon's  chart  of  152*7.*  Johann  Schoner 
on  his  globe  of  1520  had  represented  a  Western  coast  to  the 
Southern  continent,  which  was  also  mere  guess  work. 

We  cannot  decipher  the  whole  series  of  names  along  the  coast, 
but  have  read  enough  of  them  to  induce  the  belief  that  they  were 
not  taken  from  the  same  padron  or  pattern  as  Colon's  and  Ribero's 
maps  of  1527  and  1529,  which  were  prepared  as  standards  for 
the  use  of  Spanish  sailors.  The  details  of  the  coast  line  vary 
also  from  the  above  charts,  and  sometimes  are  more  correct  than 
either  of  them,  but  we  cannot  here  compare  them  without  occu 
pying  too  much  space. 

IVCATANA  is  represented,  as  on  many  maps  of  the  time,  as  an 
island,  though  its  southern  coast  line  is  riot  quite  closed.  In 
Colon's  and  Ribero's  maps  it  is  made  completely  insular,  but  in 
the  last  separated  by  a  narrow  strait  only  from  the  mainland. 

The  isthmus  of  Darien  is  made  too  wide,  and  the  Pacific  out 
line  of  it  seems  to  be  a  random  draught,  without  names  or  legends, 
and  the  Mar  del  Sur  bears  no  title.  In  the  charts  of  1527  and 
1529  the  names  are  numerous,  the  Pacific  coast  lines  ending  in 
both  of  them  at  the  Sierras  de  Gil  Gonzales  Davila,  the  limit  of 
the  explorations  of  this  gallant  explorer  in  1523,  in  N.  lat.  16°, 
being  the  present  province  and  Sierras  of  Soconusco. 

Verrazano's  coast  line,  however,  is  boldly  continued  West- 
wardly,  Northwardly,  and  then  Easterly,  ending  at  his  supposed 
isthmus  north  of  Florida.  A  large  crescent-like  land  is  thus 
formed  larger  than  Europe,  and  which  bears  the  name  NOVA 
HISPANIA.  The  parchment  is  damaged  along  the  westerly  part 
of  this  land,  but  the  line  can  be  traced,  and  TERRA  INCOGNITA  is 
twice  inscribed  along  its  shore.  Seven  Spanish  shields  are  drawn 

*  A  province  or  rich  Empire  called  Biru  was  described  to  the  Spaniards 
in  1522.  See  Herrera  III.  V.  XI.  p.  169. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MAPAMUNDI  OF  VERRAZANO.    133 

on  this  land  near  to  and  following  the  easterly  coast  line  Cozw 
mella  is  shown,  but  not  the  Gnanasa  Islands.  Along  the  isthmus, 
beginning  West  of  Yucatan,  is  the  legend  CULVACANA.  Although 
partly  misapplied,  it  is  remarkable  that  this  name  should  appear 
on  a  map  made  by  a  stranger,  for  it  is  not  to  be  found  on  the 
two  Spanish  maps  above  mentioned.  This,  with  other  indications, 
show  that  Verrazano  was  thoroughly  well  informed  about  the 
movements  of  Cortes,  having  no  doubt  found  charts  and 
despatches  in  the  prizes  he  captured,  besides  conversing  with  mer, 
on  their  way  home  from  Mexico.  The  want  of  names  along  the 
shores  of  the  Mar  del  Sur  is  explained  by  his  want  of  informa 
tion  touching  the  explorations  of  Balboa,  Davila  and  others, 
accounts  of  which  had  not  fallen  into  his  hands. 

The  coast  of  the  Gulf,  round  to  Florida,  and  to  the  isthmus 
north  of  it,  is  lined  with  names,  which  are  almost  all  illegible. 
In  the  interior  of  New  Spain,  and  in  the  same  latitude  as  the 
north  side  of  Cuba,  a  large  city  appears  with  the  name  TEMISTITAN, 
the  earliest  name  by  which  the  City  of  Mexico  was  known.  A 
little  below  is  GALATIA  PROVINCIA,  showing  that  Verrazano  was 
better  acquainted  with  his  Bible  than  with  the  inland  geography 
of  Spain. 

The  outlines  of  the  Gulf  are  remarkably  accurate  for  the  time, 
far  better  than  the  tracing  which  accompanies  Francisco  de 
Garay's  Cedula  of  1521,  as  given  in  Navarrete's  Collecion,  Vol. 
III.  They  are  even  more  correctly  given  than  on  Colon's  or 
Ribero's  maps. 

The  greater  and  lesser  Antilles,  or  the  Leeward  and  Wind 
ward  Islands  as  sailors  call  them,  are  very  correctly  drawn, 
though  the  first  are  placed  much  too  far  to  the  north.  The  last 
are  entitled  INSULE  DI  CAXIBALI,  and  the  first  ANTILIE  INSULE. 
About  twelve  names  appear  on  the  lesser  Antilles.  On  the 
greater  ones  we  read  ISABELLA  SIVE  CUBA  INSULA,  ISPAGNOLA  SIVE 
SANCTO  DOMENIGO,  Jamaica,  S.  loannes,  this  last  appearing  very 
faint  on  the  photographs.  The  Bahamas  are  nameless.  The 
Bermudas  are  not  shown,  although  known  to  the  Spaniards  before 
1511,  since  they  appear  on  the  map  in  the  first  edition  of  Peter 
Martyr's  first  Decade  of  that  date. 

The  Peninsula  of  Florida  bears  the  inscription  TERRA  FLORIDA, 
Verrazano  restricting  it  to  this  only,  while  the  Spaniards  applied 


134  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

this  name  to  all  the  land  north  to  Bacalaos.  The  outline  of  the 
peninsula  is  not  like  Ribero's,  but  is  made  square  at  the  end,  as 
found  in  some  older  charts,  and  its  southern  termination  is  in 
33^  deg.  N.,  of  his  scale.  Ribero  has  it  correctly  in  lat.  25  deg. 
N.  This  error,  derived  in  part  from  the  false  position  assigned  to 
Cuba  by  Columbus,  influenced  and  no  doubt  puzzled  our  chartog- 
rapher,  who  in  the  very  portion  of  the  Map  most  interesting  to 
us,  has  been  forced  to  alter  the  draughts  supplied  by  Giovanni, 
and  thus  deformed  the  general  bearings  of  the  coasts  explored 
in  1524. 

The  coast  names  cease  near  the  westerly  base  of  the  peninsula, 
and  reappear  at  its  easterly  base.  Here  are  seven  coast  names 
almost  illegible,  and  then  follows  the  isthmus,  which  no  doubt 
marks  the  land  fall  of  Giovanni  in  1524.  To  the  right  of  this  we 
read  Da  questo  mare  \  orientate  si  vede  \  il  mare  occidentals.  \ 
Sono  6  miglia  di  terra  \  infra  Vuno  a  Taltro.  \  .  (From  this  ori 
ental  sea  is  seen  the  western  sea.  There  are  6  miles  of  land 
between  one  and  the  other.) 

This  isthmus  is  about  two  degrees  of  latitude  long,  and  its 
western  shores  decline  respectively  to  the  West  and  to  the  North. 
The  southerly  extension  runs  parallel  with  the  shores  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  some  five  degrees  of -latitude  distant  from  it  joining 
the  imaginary  westerly  boundary  of  Nova  Hispania  above  men 
tioned,  while  the  other  shore  curves  to  a  due  northerly  course 
and  terminates  in  lat.  65  N. 

This  western  sea  is  nameless,  though  it  appears  on  many  sub 
sequent  charts  as  the  Mar  di  Verrazano.  As  there  is  not  a  word 
about  it  in  the  letter  of  July  8th,  1524,  all  that  relates  to  its 
appearance  on  the  chart  must  be  conjectural. 

Since  there  are  none  but  Spanish  names  south  of  the  isthmus, 
it  is  very  probable  that  the  new  explorations  of  Giovanni  begin 
at  this  point.  Another  feature  on  the  Map  confirms  this  view. 
Along  the  coast  from  this  point  North  are  drawn  three  square 
standards  whose  staffs  rest  on  the  coast,  the  first  one  resting  on 
the  north  end  of  the  Isthmus.  The  second  one  rests  on  the  point 
where  Verrazano  made  a  fortnight's  stay,  and  the  third  one  pro 
bably  indicates  the  point  where  he  left  the  coast.  These  flags 
are  almost  black  in  the  photographs  before  us,  but  there  appears 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MAPAMUNDI  OF  VERRAZANO.    135 

to  be  a  circle  of  perhaps  fleur  de  Us  on  them.  In  the  original 
they  are  probably  colored  blue. 

This  Isthmus,  which  Verrazano  meant  to  be  in  lat.  34  deg.,  is 
in  lat.  42  deg.  according  to  the  chart  before  us,  and  in  restoring 
the  true  draught  of  Verrazano,  the  scale  of  latitudes  must  begin 
from  this  point  as  34  deg.  N. 

For  the  courses  from  this  point  to  Bacalaos,  we  must  refer  to 
the  enlarged  sketch  of  the  chart,  copied  as  best  we  could  from 
the  photograph  at  our  disposal.  At  first,  after  turning  a  cape 
near  the  Isthmus,  the  coast  has  a  Northeasterly  trend  past  one 
river,  probably  Barnegat  inlet,  to  a  river,  which  we  believe  is 
meant  for  the  Hudson.  Thence  it  runs  E.  N.  E.  returning  sud 
denly  North  for  a  short  distance.  This  is  probably  intended  for 
Long  Island.  At  this  point  there  appears  to  be  a  deep  indenture 
of  the  coast,  left  open,  which  is  doubtless  a  representation  of 
Long  Island  Sound  and  the  Thames  at  New  London. 

Beyond  this  the  land  again  trends  Easterly,  and  there  appears 
a  broad  promontory,  probably  the  result  of  considering  Fishers 
Island  and  Point  Judith  as  united,  and  then  we  find  a  deep  curve 
inwards  and  northwards  with  three  deep  bays  and  a  triangular 
Island  off  the  coast  in  the  bight  of  the  curve,  placed  very  like 
the  I.  of  Rhodes,  and  west  of  the  bays.  The  Island  is  distinctly 
named  Luisia  or  Luisa,  after  the  Mother  of  the  King.  The  inden 
tures  represent  no  doubt  the  three  entrances  of  Narragansett 
Bay,  where  Verrazano  made  a  stay  of  fifteen  days.  Here  another 
flag  is  placed. 

East  of  this  the  coast  drops  a  little  to  the  Southward,  and  runs 
out  in  a  long  point  represented  by  dots,  and  on  which  we  read 
arenosa  punta,  signifying  a  sandy  cape.  This  point  is  probably 
intended  for  Nantucket  shoals  and  Cape  Cod  taken  as  a  whole, 
and  as  a  first  attempt  to  represent  this  striking  feature  of  our 
coast  is  most  remarkable.  Neither  Estevan  Gomez,  who,  in  the 
following  year,  traced  this  coast  from  North  to  South,  nor  any 
subsequent  navigator  who  has  left  any  record  of  his  voyage, 
describes  this  prominent  peninsula  so  as  to  positively  identify  it, 
until  Champlain's  time.  After  turning  Cape  Cod  the  coast  is 
represented  with  a  general  trend  to  the  East-North-East,  with  no 
important  projections  or  depressions,  excepting  one  river  with  a 
wide  mouth,  and  a  bay  just  east  of  it,  forming  a  rather  wide 


136  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

estuary,  which  may  well  represent  the  Kennebeck  or  Penobscot 
Rivers  in  the  present  State  of  Maine.  The  islands  which  charac 
terize  the  broken  coast  line  of  this  State,  and  which  number 
over  three  hundred,  do  not  appear  on  the  map,  although  Yerra- 
zano  says  in  his  letter  that  he  counted  thirty-two  in  the  space  of 
fifty  leagues.  This  statement,  with  the  account  of  the  rugged 
shores  seen  here,  identify  the  coast  as  that  of  Maine,  and  could 
hardly  have  been  invented  by  one  who  had  never  sailed  along 
these  shores. 

A  little  East  of  this  larger  river  appear  two  small  ones  entering 
a  shallow  bay,  and  just  east  of  the  second  one  we  read  distinctly 
monte.  These  features  may  be  intended  as  a  rough  representa 
tion  of  the  apparently  double  mouth  of  the  Penobscot,  with 
Mount  Desert  just  east  of  it. 

On  another  river,  further  on,  we  read  Vendome,  and  the  fifth 
name  east  of  it  is  either  aranbega  or  very  much  like  it,  the  initial 
a  and  final  bega  being  quite  distinct.  There  is  no  river  near  it, 
nor  anything  to  distinguish  it  from  the  other  coast  names,  and 
the  mapmaker  may  have  inserted  it  here,  copying  from  some 
draught  now  lost.  We  have  spoken  of  JSTorumbega  in  another 
note,  but  would  remark  that  this  seems  to  be  its  first  appearance 
on  a  map,  and  that  not  until  1539  did  Pierre  Crignon  describe 
this  part  of  the  coast  under  the  name  as  last  written.  Back  of 
these  notices  no  mention  of  such  a  name  for  a  land  river  or  town 
has  been  found,  except  that  Peter  Martyr,  in  his  seventh  Decade, 
enumerates  Arambe  as  one  of  the  provinces  visited  by  Ayllon 
in  1525,  but  he  was  speaking  of  places  in  Chicora  (Cherokee), 
much  to  the  south  of  this  one.  The  resemblance  of  this  name 
to  the  one  of  Crignon's  deceived  Hakluyt  at  a  later  date,  who 
combined  them  to  form  the  word  Arambec,  which  he  identifies 
with  Norumbega  As  the  seventh  Decade  of  Martyr  was  not 
published  until  1530,  Crignon  could  not  have  derived  it  from 
that  source. 

The  third  French  flag  is  placed  on  the  River  Yendome,  pro 
bably  indicating  the  point  of  Yerrazano's  departure  from  the 
coast,  which  would  thus  be  near  Mount  Desert,  or  a  few  miles 
north  of  the  parallel  of  44°  N.  On  his  return  he,  no  doubt,  pro 
cured  a  chart  of  the  coasts  of  the  land  of  the  Bretons,  and  of 
Terra  Nova,  and  thus  completed  his  tracing  of  our  coast. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MAPAMUNDI  OF  VERRAZANO.    137 

Over  the  three  flags  appears,  in  capital  letters,  the  inscrip 
tion  NOVA  GALLIA  |  SITE  IVCATANET  |  and  the  following  legend: 
Verrazano  sine  noua  gallla  quote  discopri  \  5  anni  fa  Giouanni 
di  Verrazano  fiorentino  \  per  ordine  et  comandameto  dal  Crys- 
tianissimo  \  Re  difrancia  \  (Verrazano  or  new  Gaul  which  was 
discovered  5  years  ago  by  Giouanni  di  Verrazano  the  florentine 
by  the  order  and  command  of  the  most  Christian  King  of  France.) 

This  is  the  only  clue  to  a  date  for  the  chart,  which  cannot 
have  been  drawn  later  than  1529.  Verrazano,  in  his  letter,  does 
not  propose  the  name  New  France,  but  no  doubt,  did  thus  apply 
it  shortly  after  writing  to  the  King.  How  the  name  IVCATANET 
came  to  be  applied  to  it  would  be  difficult  to  answer,  and  we 
cannot  discuss  that  question  here.  The  third  name,  Verrazano, 
was  probably  a  suggestion  by  the  draughtsman,  the  relative  of 
the  explorer.  If  Giovanni  had  died  before  1529,  the  fact  of  his 
demise  would  most  probably  have  been  recorded  in  this  legend. 

There  is  little  to  add  to  complete  our  notice  of  the  map.  There 
is  no  indication  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  or  of  the  peninsular  char 
acter  of  Acadia.  The  name  of  Cape  Breton  can  be  distinctly 
read,  and  there  is  a  broad  opening  drawn  between  it  and  the 
land  east  of  it.  In  this  opening  there  is  an  island,  and  the  words 
G.  de  S.  loanni  and  I.  de  S.  loanni,  just  above  which  appears 
the  shield  of  Brittany. 

These  names  recall  Cabot's  Island  of  St.  John,  discovered  by 
him  on  the  24th  of  June,  1497,  and  distinctly  laid  down  on  his 
Mapamundi  of  1544,  although  he  there  seems  to  have  raised  it 
slightly  in  latitude,  perhaps  because  he  took  Cartier's  group  of 
the  Magdalen  Islands,  which  he  places  just  east  of  it,  to  be  a  part 
of  his  own  Island.  If  laid  down  on  the  map  before  us  from 
Cabot's  data,  it  would  be  the  first  known  indication  of  his  dis 
coveries.  If  this  were  so,  however,  we  ought  to  find  the  Gulf 
inside,  in  which  he  got  imbayed  on  that  voyage,  and  the  ice- 
bearing  Straits  of  Belleisle,  by  which  he  left  it  to  return  to 
Bristol.*  It  is  not  known  who  gave  to  this  Gulf  the  name  it 
here  bears,  nor  that  of  Golfo  Quadrado,  by  which  it  was  known 
to  Gomara  in  1552.  The  southern  entrance  into  the  Gulf  has  no 
name  at  this  day,  and  Cabot's  Strait  would  be  a  very  appropriate 
one  for  it. 

*See  Hist.  Mag.,  N.  Y.,  Vol.  Ill,  Ser.  II,  p.  129. 
18 


138  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

East  of  this  opening  is  a  land  entitled  TERRA  NOVA  SIVE  LE 
MOLVE,  bearing  along  its  easterly  coast  the  usual  well-known 
names,  (7.  raso,  C.  de  spera,  bachalaos,  Ilia  de  San  Luis,  Monte 
de  trigo,  Ilia  dos  aves,  etc.,  of  Portuguese,  Basque  and  Breton 
origin.  The  southerly  coast  bears  no  names.  It  is  uncertain 
who  first  gave  the  name  Terra  Nova  to  this  Island,  which  first 
appears  nameless  on  a  map  made  by  Pedro  Reinel,*  without  date, 
preserved  in  Munich.  We  confidently  believe  that  this  map,  or 
the  original  of  it,  was  drawn  for  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator, 
who  died  in  1460,  for  it  contains  his  possessions  only,  beginning 
with  the  newly  found  Cape  Verd,  in  Africa.  Back  of  the  land 
meant  for  Terra  Nova  are  painted  two  shields,  one  bearing  the 
arms  of  Portugal,  five  white  balls  on  a  blue  ground,  and  the 
other  a  red  Maltese  cross  on  a  white  ground.  The  Prince  was 
the  Grand  Master  of  the  Portuguese  Order  of  Christ,  which,  in 
that  kingdom,  succeeded  the  Order  of  Knights  Templar,  after  it 
had  been  uprooted  elsewhere.  This  ascription  of  the  land  to  the 
Prince,  and  the  total  absence  of  any  trace  of  the  Spanish  dis 
coveries  in  the  Atlantic  after  1492,  would  seem  to  give  a  pre- 
Columbian  character  to  this  map,  which  entitles  it  to  much  more 
notice  than  it  has  hitherto  received  at  the  hands  of  Dr.  J.  A. 
Schmeller  and  F.  Kunstmann,  who  have  described  it  as  not 
anterior  to  the  supposed  discoveries  of  the  Cortereals,  in  1500 
and  1501.  Kernel's  map  bears  a  trace  of  even  an  earlier  know 
ledge  of  Newfoundland,  for  in  the  same  parallel,  but  further 
eastward,  there  is  drawn  a  large  island,  with  a  bank  or  shoal 
around  it,  which  is  named  I  verde. 

We  cannot  pursue  this  subject  now,  but  a  comparison  of  Verra- 
zano's  with  Reinel's  map  will  prove  that  the  former  was  copying 
the  latter  in  this  portion  of  the  map.  On  the  map  of  Juan  de 
la  Cosa  of  1500,  drawn  before  Gaspar  Cortereal's  return  from  his 
first  voyage,  we  find  an  Y.  Verde  in  a  similar  position,  as  shown 
on  the  copy  of  it  as  given  by  Humboldt,f  though  on  Jomard's 
fac-simile  it  is  named  S.  Grigor.  From  these  and  other  indica- 

*  Pedro  and  his  son  Jorge  were  in  the  service  of  Spain  in  1519,  as  map- 
makers;  Navarette  Coll.,  Ill,  155.  A  Pedro  Reinel  is  mentioned,  in  1487,  by 
Barros,  Dec.  I,  liv.  3,  cap.  12. 

\Examen  Critique,  Vol.  V,  and  Ghillany's  Behaim.  The  name,  however, 
will  probably  be  found  on  the  orignal  map,  now  in  Madrid. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MAPAMUNDI  OF  VERRAZANO.    130 

tions  we  are  led  to  believe  that  Newfoundland,  under  the  name 
of  Isla  Verde  or  Bacalaos,  and  others,  was  known  to  fishermen, 
if  not  to  geographers,  long  before  Cabot's  time.  Bacalaos,  the 
Iberian  name  for  the  codfish,  would  be  translated  by  the  French 
Molue*  from  the  Latin  Molva,  and  thus  it  appears  on  Verrazano's 
map. 

North  of  Terra  Nova  there  is  a  broad  but  nameless  estuary  or 
opening  of  a  strait,  separating  it  from  a  great  peninsular  land, 
whose  broad  southern  termination,  in  lat.  59^°,  is  east  of  and 
opposite  to  the  north  end  of  this  last,  while  its  easterly  outline 
runs  towards  the  North,  ending  in  lat.  76°  N.  On  this  land,  the 
map  being  reversed,  we  read  TERRA  LABORATORIS,  and  with  the 
map  upright,  the  legend  "questa  terra  fu  discoperta  da  inyhilesi" 
and  over  all  a  shield  bearing  the  cross  of  St.  George. 

The  Strait  is  no  doubt  meant  for  the  Rio  Nevada  of  the  Portu 
guese  maps,  and  is  probably  the  representation  of  the  ice  loaded 
current  separating  North  America  from  Greenland.  One  of  the 
Cortereals  appears  to  have  sighted  Greenland,  not  recognizing  it 
as  the  Greenland  of  the  Northmen,  which  perhaps  they  had  never 
heard  jf,  and  it  has  probably  been  added  on  Kernel's  map  after 
1500,  but  without  a  name,  just  as  Verrazano  has  it  here.  At 
that  time  Greenland  was  supposed  to  be  connected  with  Europe, 
and  this  Terra  laboratoris  of  our  map  is  a  Mapmaker's  attempt, 
and  perhaps  a  successful  one,  to  locate  the  land  from  which  Cor- 
tereal  took  his  slaves  in  1501.  The  true  position  of  the  coasts 
seen  by  the  Cortereal's  remains  a  problem,  which  can  only  be 
solved  by  the  discovery  of  further  documentary  evidence.  Jerome 
was  not  well  informed  when  he  attributes  the  discovery  of  this 
land  to  the  English.  He  was  perhaps  endeavoring  in  this  instance, 
to  bring  in  the  shadowy  discoveries  of  Sebastian  Cabot. 

This  completes  our  sketch  of  the  Verrazano  map  of  the  World, 
which  we  regret  to  have  been  unable  to  decipher  more  completely 
owing  to  the  imperfect  copies  of  it  at  our  disposal. 

*  The  French  MorrJiue  has  a  different  root,  although  it  is  synonymous  with 
Molue.. 


140  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 


XXXVIII.— CHARTS  AFTER  VERRAZANO. 

Dr.  I.  G.  Kohl  in  the  first  part  of  his  History  of  the  discovery 
of  the  East  Coast  of  North  America,  &c.,  published  by  the  Maine 
Historical  Society  in  1869,  Chapter  VIII,  treats  of  the  voyage  of 
Verrazano  in  much  detail,  and  gives  notes  on  several  charts  which 
seem,  as  respects  the  East  coast  of  the  United  States,  to  have  been 
based  on  one  drawn  by  that  navigator.  He  had  not  however 
been  able  to  procure  a  copy  of  the  one  seen  in  Rome  by  Mons. 
Thomassy,  which  he  regrets,  while  mentioning  it  in  a  note  at  page 
290.  His  remarks  on  Maps  which  probably  were  in  part  con 
structed  from  it,  are  so  full  that  we  can  add  but  little  to  them, 
although  he  had  not  the  advantage  of  being  able  to  consult  the 
original. 

We  must  observe  however  that  we  cannot  find  one  chart  made 
after  1524,  on  which  our  coast  is  represented  as  on  the  one  before 
us.  The  only  feature  which  Mapmakers  seem  to  have  noticed 
and  copied  was  the  Western  sea  separated  by  an  isthmus  from 
the  Atlantic.  The  coast  however  that  he  explored  was  always 
copied  from  Spanish  charts  containing  the  surveys  of  Gomez  and 
others,  which  appear  to  have  been  spread  over  Europe  shortly 
after  they  were  prepared.  The  Spanish  Maps  remained  the  sole 
authority  for  the  outlines  of  our  coast  from  Florida  to  Nova 
Scotia  until  the  English  in  1583  began  their  settlements  in 
Virginia. 

Jacques  Carder  and  Jean  Alfonse  must  have  prepared  charts, 
now  lost,  but  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  Newfoundland  were 
represented  correctly  soon  after  their  explorations.  They  were 
perhaps  less  ambitious  than  Verrazano,  and  did  not  construct  a 
Map  of  the  World  in  order  to  show  their  own  limited  explora 
tions.  Had  our  navigator  left  a  chart  of  his  own  discoveries 
only,  it  would  have  perhaps  attracted  more  attention  among 
geographers.  * 

Most  of  the  charts  after  1524  which  show  the  Western  sea, 
call  it  Mar  de  Verrazano  and  the  land  is  sometimes  called  Verra- 
zana,  but  after  1583  his  name  disappears  from  every  chart.  One 
of  the  last  of  this  kind  was  made  by  Michael  Locke  in  1582.  (See 
Hakluyt's  Divers  Voyages  1582.  Rep.  by  Hakluyt  Soc.  1850.) 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  narrow  isthmus  which  is  said,  on  the 


CHARTS  AFTER   VERRAZANO.  J  4] 

chart  before  us  to  be  only  five  leagues  wide,  was  never  sought 
for  by  any  other  explorer.  It  was  a  strait  that  was  desired,  one 
that  all  nations  could  navigate  and  that  would  shorten  the  way 
to  Cathay  and  the  Moluccas. 

The  first  published  Map  containing  traces  of  Verrazano's  explo 
rations  is  in  the  Ptolemy  of  Basle  1530,  which  appeared  four 
years  before  the  French  renewed  their  attempts  at  American 
exploration.  It  shows  the  Western  sea  without  a  name,  and  the 
land  North  of  it  is  called  Francisca. 

In  Bordone's  Isolario  of  1528,  fol.  vi,  verso,  is  seen  a  map  with 
a  sea  west  of  Labrador,  with  a  strait  at  the  height  of  the  Azores 
leading  into  it,  probably  all  guess-work. 

Several  geographers  and  chartographers  such  as  Ruscelli  and 
Agnese,  show  the  Western  sea  on  their  Maps,  and  Dr.  Kohl  care 
fully  enumerates  those  he  has  met  with,  but  the  most  interesting 
document  of  the  kind  is  probably  the  copper  globe  of  Euphro- 
synus  Ulpianus  of  1542,  found  by  the  late  Buckingham  Smith  in 
Italy,  and  now  in  the  possession  of  .the  New  York  Historical 
Society.  It  contains  the  only  allusion  to  Verrazano's  discovery 
recorded  on  a  Map,  previous  to  the  publication  of  the  letter  in 
Ramusius  of  1556.  The  earliest  notice  of  the  voyage  as  marked 
elsewhere,  is  in  the  account  of  Norumbega  of  1539,  supposed  to 
have  been  written  by  Crignon. 

Mr.  Smith  in  his  Inquiry,  &c.,  read  before  the  New  York  His 
torical  Society  in  October,  1864,  mentions  this  globe,  and  givt?s 
a  copy  of  the  part  that  contains  the  North  American  coast.  An 
inspection  of  this  portion  of  the  globe  will  at  once  show  that  the 
author  had  seen  neither  the  letter  of  1524  nor  the  chart  of  1529. 
He  must  have  learned  of  the  discovery  elsewhere  and  from  a 
source  unknown  to  us.  He  represents  the  Western  sea,  name 
less,  and  North  of  it  appears  the  legend  "  Verrazana  sive  Nova 
(iiillia  a  Verrazano,  Florentine,  comperta  anne  sal  M.  D." 
There  is  an  unfilled  blank  after  the  date,  proving  that  the  author 
had  not  seen  the  letter  of  1524.  Of  the  names  along  the  coast 
there  are  some  which  may  date  from  Verrazano's  voyage,  but  as 
the  photographs  before  us  contain  no  legible  names  we  cannot 
venture  to  assert  their  identity.  The  names  "  Go  de  S.  Germane 
and  Lungavitta"  (St.  Germain  and  Longueville)  on  the  globe,  are 
decidedly  French  and  we  believe  appear  on  no  other  Maps. 


142  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

Norman  villa  may  be  a  translation  of  Norumbega,  and  if  so  is 
interesting  as  being  its  first  mention  on  a  map. 

The  chart  of  1529  was  probably  preserved  in  England  or  on 
the  Continent  for  some  years,  and  was  then  inspected  by  geog 
raphers,  but  no  close  copy  of  it  appears  to  have  been  made. 
About  the  middle  of  the  16th  century  it  seems  to  have  disap 
peared,  having  probably  been  sent  to  Rome,  where  it  has  lain 
dormant  and  unnoticed  for  three  centuries,  until  noticed  by 
Mons.  Thomassy  in  1852.  Had  it  remained  open  to  public  exam 
ination  Verrazano's  name  would  have  not  required  our  tardy 
recognition  of  his  exploit  as  an  explorer.  We  must  however 
thank  the  preservers  of  this  chart  for  having  rescued  it  from  the 
fate  that  has  befallen  so  many  charts,  valueless  when  a  few  years 
old,  but  which  would  be  almost  priceless  now.  Perhaps  the 
charts  of  Columbus  may  be  stored  somewhere  in  like  manner 
and  yet  be  discovered. 


XXXIX.— NEW  FRANCE,  OF  VERRAZANO. 

In  the  letter  of  1524,  Verrazano  does  not  propose  any  name 
for  the  land  he  had  discovered,  but  on  the  Mapamundi  of  1529, 
by  Hieronimus,  we  find  it  inscribed  NOVA  GALLIA  sive  IVCATANET, 
from  Florida  or  the  shore  of  the  supposed  Western  sea  to  the 
Terra  des  Bretons.  This  name  must  have  been,  therefore,  pro 
posed  by  Giovanni,  and  the  name  Yucatanet  was,  perhaps,  added 
by  the  mapmaker,  though  without  any  apparent  reason,  for  the 
land  of  Grijalva  is  represented  as  doubtfully  insular,  and  with  its 
right  name,  Yucatan.  He  also  has  Nueva  Hispania  properly 
placed. 

The  Spaniards  never  recognized  this  name,  but  carried  their 
Florida  up  to  lat.  45°,  which  was  officially  declared  to  be  the 
limit  of  Spanish  territory  by  Philip  the  Second.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  the  name  America  was  also  not  recognized  by 
them  until  a  very  recent  date. 

Crignon,  in  1539,  had  not  seen  Verrazano's  chart,  but  says  that 
many  navigators,  and  even  the  Portuguese,  call  this  Terra  Fran- 
£aise.  Jean  Alphonse,  who  coasted  South  to  Massachusetts  Bay 


JACOPO  GASTALDI^  1548.  143 

about  1542,  says,  in  his  Rout-tier ,  that  these  lands  may  well  be 
called  New  France.  Ramusius,  in  1553,  calls  it  Nova  Gallia, 
and  Ribault,  in  1562,  called  it  New  France.  Father  Biard,  in 
1614-16,  is  of  the  opinion  that  Verrazan  was  the  godfather  of 
this  name.  Rocols,  in  1660,  (Descript.  du  Monde,  3me  partie, 
Tom.  V,  p.  27,)  explicitly  says  that  Jean  Verrazan  gave  this 
name  to  it. 

On  many  maps  after  1530,  it  was  designated  as  Verrazana,  or 
as  Nova  Gallia  and  Francisca,  the  name  New  France  being 
finally  restricted  to  the  lands  first  explored  by  Jacques  Cartier, 
although  he  did  not  apply  that  name  to  them.  The  Mapmakers, 
who  had  followed  the  draughts  of  the  discoverer,  did  not  hesitate 
to  place  the  name  where  it  was  first  imposed,  while  historians, 
with  the  letter  of  1524  only  before  them,  were  in  doubt  as  to  the 
origin  and  proper  application  of  the  name. 


XL.— JACOPO  GASTALD1,  1548. 

There  was  published  at  Venice  in  1548  an  octavo  edition  of 
Ptolemy,  in  Italian,  containing  modern  additions,  taken  from 
Sebastian  Minister,  and  newly  designed  maps  prepared  by  Jacopo 
Gastaldi,  the  well-known  mapmaker.  Among  these,  the  one 
entitled  Tierra  Nueva,  representing  the  coast  from  Labrador  to 
Florida,  is  from  a  draught  entirely  different  from  any  previously 
published.  The  materials  for  it  were  probably  derived  from 
Ramusius,  who  had  collected  original  maps  to  illustrate  his  col 
lection  of  voyages,  but  who  published  very  few  of  them.  In 
this  particular  map  we  find  indication  of  Portuguese  and  French 
tracings,  with  but  little  from  Spanish  ones.  Labrador,  confounded 
with  Greenland,  stretches  far  to  the  East;  Newfoundland  is 
divided  into  Islands,  as  in  the  Map  of  Sebastian  Cabot  of  1544 
(which,  however,  Gastaldi  does  not  appear  to  have  used),  and 
from  Cape  Breton  to  C.  de  S.  Maria,  the  tracing  appears  to  be 
a  combination  of  Thomas  Aubert's  and  Verrazano's  charts.  We 
cannot  here  further  analyze  this  map,  which  has  been  well 
described  by  Mr.  Kohl  (Maine,  p.  225  and  233),  though  he  copies 


144  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

it  from  Ruscelli's  Ptolemy  of  1561,  not  having  seen  the  earlier 
edition  of  1548,  which  he,  however,  quotes  in  a  foot  note. 

The  only  point  to  which  we  wish  here  to  draw  attention  is, 
that  perhaps  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  lay  down  Yerrazano's 
Luisia,  which  is  misspelt  J3risa,  and  is  placed  not  far  from  Cape 
Breton.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  other  portions  of  the  coast 
to  the  S.  W.  are  from  Verrazano's  explorations.  They  appear 
rather  to  be  from  the  sketches  of  Jean  Alfonse.  Had  he  seen 
Verrazano's  chart  he  could  not  have  omitted,  as  he  does,  all 
mention  of  him  in  his  text. 

MERCATOK,  1569. 

Gerard  Mercator  (or  Kremer),  the  great  reformer  of  Chart o- 
graphy,  in  his  Planisphere  of  1569,  first  named  the  island  off  the 
coast  Claudia,  being  confused  in  his  historical  data,  and  this  error 
was  copied  by  Hakluyt  and  others.  Mercator  also  commits,  in 
his  legends,  the  mistake  of  making  him  sail  from  Dieppe  March 
17,  1524.  Ribault  led  him  into  this  error. 


XLI.— RAMUSIUS. 

Extract  from  the  3d  vol.  of  the  collection  of  Voj'ages  by  Ramusius.    First  edition. 

Venice,  1556. 

Fol.  417.  Discourse  on  the  mainland  of  the  West  Indies, 
called  the  land  of  Labrador,  of  Bacchalaos  and  of  New  France. 

There  sailed  also  along  the  said  land  in  the  year  1524,  a  great 
Captain  of  the  most  Christian  King  France,  called  John  da  Ver- 
razano  of  Florence,  and  he  ran  the  whole  coast  unto  Florida,  as 
by  one  of  his  letters  written  to  the  said  King  may  be  seen  more 
particularly,  the  only  one  we  could  procure,  because  the  others 
were  destroyed  during  the  sack  of  the  poor  City  of  Florence, 
and  in  the  last  voyage  which  he  made,  having  landed  with  some 
companions,  they  were  all  killed  by  those  people,  and  in  the 
presence  of  those  who  remained  on  the  ship,  they  were  roasted 
and  eaten.  This  unfortunate  end  befell  this  worthy  gentleman, 
who  if  this  death  had  not  prevented,  with  the  great  knowledge 
and  understanding  which  he  had  of  marine  matters,  and  of  the 
art  of  navigation,  combined  and  favored  by  the  great  liberality 


ADMIRAL  CHABOT  AND  VERRAZANO.  145 

of  the  King  Francis,  would  have  discovered  and  made  known  to 
the  world,  all  that  part  of  the  earth  unto  the  Arctic  pole,  and 
he  would  have  not  been  satisfied  with  the  sea  only,  but  would 
have  tried  to  penetrate  farther  into  the  land  and  as  far  as  he 
could  have  gone,  and  many  who  knew  him  and  conversed  with 
him,  have  told  me  that  he  had  determined  to  persuade  the  most 
Christian  King  to  send  to  those  parts  a  good  number  of  people 
to  settle  in  some  points  of  the  said  coast,  which  are  of  a  temper 
ate  climate,  and  with  a  most  fertile  soil  and  very  fine  rivers,  and 
harbors  that  can  hold  any  fleets.  Much  good  might  be  done  to 
the  inhabitants  of  these  places  such  as  turning  these  poor  rough 
and  ignorant  people  to  the  worship  of  God  and  to  our  most  holy 
faith,  and  to  show  them  how  to  cultivate  the  earth,  taking  the 
animals  of  our  Europe  to  those  spacious  tracts,  and  lastly  with 
time  we  shall  have  discovered  the  inland  countries,  and  if  among 
so  many  islands  as  there  be  there,  whether  any  passage  exists  to 
the  South  sea,  or  if  the  mainland  of  the  Florida  of  the  West 
Indies  continues  unto  the  pole.  This  and  many  other  things 
were  said  to  have  been  alluded  to  by  this  valiant  gentleman,  of 
whose  works  and  efforts  we  have  wished  to  publish  this  little 
that  has  reached  us,  that  the  remembrance  of  him  should  not  be 
buried  or  his  name  be  forgotten. 


XLIL— ADMIRAL  CHABOT  AND  VERRAZANO. 

Fontette  MS.  XXI,  770,  fol.  (50.  National  Library,  Paris. 

We  translate  the  agreement  given  by  Mons.  Margry,  with 
some  abridgment. 

"Philippe  Chabot,  Baron  d'Apremont,  Chevalier  de  1'ordre 
du  Roy,  son  Gouverneur  et  lieutenant  General  de  Bourgoingue, 
Admiral  de  France  et  de  Bretaine. 

"  Has  determined  to  fit  out  two  french  gallions  now  in  Havre 
de  Grace,  together  with  a  ship  belonging  to  Jehan  Ango  of 
Dieppe  of  about  seventy  tons,  for  the  voyage  of  the  spices  to 
the  Indies. 

"  Have  concluded  with  those  below  to  put  in  a  sum  of  twenty 
thousand  livres  tournois,  i.  e.,  we,  the  Admiral,  four  thousand; 
19 


146  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

Master  Guillaume  Preudhomme,  general  of  Normandy,  two 
thousand;  Pierre  Despinolles,  one  thousand;  Jehan  Ango,  two 
thousand;  Jacques  Boursier,  the  same;  Messire  Jehan  de  Vare- 
sam,  principal  pilot,  the  same.  The  above  sums  amounting 
together  to  twenty  thousand  livres  [which  is  not  so,  but  perhaps 
the  value  of  the  ships  made  up  the  rest]. 

"  The  Admiral  and  Ango  are  to  furnish  the  ships,  with  tackle 
and  armament  complete,  and  to  have  one-quarter  of  all  merchan 
dise  brought  home  in  return.  The  moneys  above  to  pay  for 
victualling,  venture  and  wages. 

"  The  said  Messire  Jehan,  pilot,  to  furnish  two  other  compe 
tent  pilots  for  the  other  two  ships,  and  to  receive  for  himself  and 
the  two  pilots,  one-sixth  of  the  merchandise  brought  in,  after 
one-quarter  has  been  taken  out  as  above. 

"  Should  any  of  the  above  ships  be  lost  or  not  be  able  to  sail, 
the  apportionment  to  hold  good  as  above,  and  the  ship  not  sail 
ing  to  participate  at  the  rate  of  a  mark  to  the  livre. 

"  And  should  any  prize  be  made  at  sea  from  the  Moors  or 
other  enemies  of  the  Faith  and  of  the  King,  Monsieur  1' Admi 
ral  will  take  a  prior  part  of  said  prize  of  one-tenth,  and  the  rest 
of  the  proceeds  of  said  prize  will  be  divided  like  the  other  mer 
chandise,  excepting  such  part  of  it  as  may  be  apportioned  to  the 
partners  as  agreed  upon. 

"  And  the  Sieur  Admiral  will  procure  letters  patent  to  license 
and  expedite  the  said  voyage,  and  that  no  obstacle  shall  be  put 
in  the  way  by  any  allied  friendly  or  confederate  nation  of  the 
King  our  Lord." 

[Endorsed]     "  For  the  voyage  of  Messire  Joan." 


XLIIL— OVIEDO  ON  THE  ENGLISH  VOYAGE  OF  1527. 

Oviedo.     Historia  general  de  las  Indias.     Sevilla,  1535.     Book  19,  cap.  13,  fol.   161. 
Academy  edition,  Madrid,  1851,  vol.  1,  p.  611. 

Of  certain  stranger  corsairs  that  have  passed  to  those  parts 

and  the  Indies,  and  what  happened  to  them  for  their  evil  designs. 

In  the  year  1527*  an  English  corsair,  under  the  pretence  that 

*  Ramusius,  Vol.  Ill,  fol.  204,  has  copied  this  date  erroneously  as  1517. 


HERRERA  ON  THE  VOYAGK  OF  1527.  147 

he  had  gone  out  on  discovery,  came  with  a  great  ship,  returning 
from  Brazil*  on  the  coast  of  Ticrra  Firine,  and  from  thence  he 
crossed  to  this  Island  Espanola,  and  came  near  the  mouth  of  the 
port  of  this  City  of  Santo  Domingo.  He  sent  his  boat  full  of 
mon  and  sought  license  to  come  in  there,  saying  that  he  came 
with  merchandise  and  for  traffic.  At  this  moment,  the  Alcalde, 
Francisco  de  Tapia,f  ordered  a  blank  charge  to  be  fired  from  the 
Castle  at  the  ship,  which  was  coining  right  into  port.  When  the 
English  saw  this  they  retired  outside,  and  those  in  the  boat 
embarked  and  went  back  to  their  ship. 

In  truth  the  Alcalde  committed  an  error  in  what  he  did, 
because  if  the  ship  had  entered,  it  would  not  have  gone  out 
again  against  the  will  of  the  City  and  the  Castle.  Thus  seeing 
the  manner  in  which  they  were  received,  they  took  the  direction 
of  the  Island  of  Sant  Juan,  and  entering  the  bay  of  Sant  Ger 
man,  they  spoke  to  the  people  of  that  city,  &c. 


XLIV.— HERRERA  ON  THE  VOYAGE  OF  1527. 

Herrera,  Historia  general  de  los  hechos  de  los  Castellanos  en  las  Islas  y  Tierra  Firme  del 
Mar  Oceano.  Madrid,  1601.  Decada  II,  Libro  V,  Cap.  III. 

(The  following  extract  is  placed  in  the  Spanish  work,  under  the 
year  1519,  but  in  Navarro's  own  manuscript,^  as  we  were  informed 
by  the  late  Buckingham  Smith,  the  date  of  the  report  is,  St.  Juan, 
November  19th,  1527.  We  know  also,  from  Oviedo,  that  this  is 
the  correct  one.) 

Cap.  III.  Of  an  English  ship,  which  came  to  the  Indies  ;  and 
of  the  state  in  which  the  Islands  were. 

The  ships  which  carried  the  gold,  the  pearls  and  the  common 
merchandise  having  sailed,  a  caravel  of  Santo  Domingo  being  in 

*  The  account  in  Herrera,  that  the  ship  had  come  from  Newfoundland, 
seems  to  be  the  correct  one. 

f  Tapia  died  in  January,  1533,  and  Oviedo  himself  was  appointed  as  his 
successor,  holding  the  appointment  until  1554,  though  several  times  cross 
ing  the  Ocean  to  Spain.  In  1549  he  became  also  Regidor  of  St.  Domingo 
City;  resigned  his  office  155C,  returned  home  and  died  in  1557,  aged  79. 

\  Entitled  "  A  copy  of  a  letter  authorized  by  Domo.  Cavallero,  escrivano  of 
the  Audiencia  of  Espanola,"  &c.,  &c.  MS.  in  Seville. 


148  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

the  Island  of  San  Juan,  loading  with  Cacabi  [Cassava],  there 
came  in  a  ship  of  three  top  sails  of  the  burthen  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  tons.  The  master  of  the  caravel  went  to  her  in  his  boat, 
believing  that  she  was  a  Spanish  ship.  He  discovered  a  pinnace 
with  twenty-five  men  armed  with  breast-plates,  cross-bows  and 
bows,  with  two  pieces  of  Artillery  in  the  bow.  They  said  they 
were  English,  and  that  the  ship  was  from  England,  and  that  this 
and  another  one  had  been  fitted  out  to  go  and  seek  for  the  land 
of  the  Great  Khan,*  and  that  they  had  been  parted  in  a  storm. 
That  this  ship,  pursuing  her  voyage,  they  got  into  a  frozen  sea, 
and  found  great  islands  of  ice.  That  having  taken  another 
course,  they  got  into  a  different  warm  sea,  that  boiled  like  water 
in  a  caldron,  and  that  to  avoid  having  the  pitch  melted,  they 
went  to  make  the  Bacallaos  (Newfoundland),  where  they  found 
fifty  ships,  Spanish,  French  and  Portuguese,  fishing,  and  that  they 
wished  to  land,  to  speak  to  the  Indians,  and  they  killed  the  Pilot, 
who  was  a  Piedmontese.  That  from  thence  they  had  coasted  to 
the  Rio  de  Chicora.  That  from  that  river  they  had  crossed  to  the 
Island  of  St.  John. 

And  asking  them  what  they  sought  in  these  Islands,  they  said 
that  they  desired  to  see  them,  to  give  an  account  of  them  to  the 
King  of  England,  and  load  up  with  Brazil  wood.  They  requested 
the  master  of  the  Caravel,  who  was  named  Ginez  Navarro,  that 
he  would  come  on  board  their  ship,  and  that  he  would  show  them 
the  route  to  Santo  Domingo.  He  saw  in  the  ship  a  quantity  of 
wine,  flour  and  other  victuals  and  many  cloths,  linen,  with  many 
other  articles  for  traffic.  They  carried  much  artillery,  and  a 
forge,  and  had  ship-carpenters,  and  an  oven  to  make  bread,  and 
there  might  be  sixty  men.  The  said  Ginez  Navarro  said  further 
that  the  Captain  of  this  ship  wanted  to  show  him  the  Instructions 
he  carried  from  the  King  of  England,  if  he  could  have  read  them, 
and  that  at  the  Island  of  Mona,  they  put  men  ashore,  and  in  the 
Island  of  St.  John  they  trafficked  some  tin.  This  ship  went  to 

*  When  Gilbert  was  fitted  out  with  two  barks  of  forty  and  thirty  tons 
each  in  1603,  to  search  for  a  passage,  where  Hudson,  in  1610,  discovered  the 
Straits  that  bears  his  name,  there  is  a  charge  in  the  outfit  of  £6  13s.  4d. 
to  Mr.  Seger  for  writing  her  Majesty's  letter  to  the  Emperor  of  China  and 
Cathay.  Columbus,  as  we  know,  was  always  provided  with  a  similar  letter, 
and  died  in  the  belief  that  he  had  reached  Asia  only. 


HERRERA  ON  THE  VOYAGE  OP  1527.  149 

the  port  of  Santo  Domingo,  and  sent  a  boat  ashore,  saying  that 
the  traffic  was  desired,  and  it  stayed  there  two  days.  The  Alcalde 
of  the  Castle,  sent  on  its  arrival  to  ask  the  Auditors  that  they 
should  give  him  orders  what  to  do,  and  because  they  did  not 
answer,  he  fired  a  piece  of  cannon  against  the  ship  ;  after  which 
it  hastened  to  get  its  boat  back,  and  soon  went  away,  and  returned 
to  the  Island  of  St.  John,  where  it  lingered  a  short  time  traffick 
ing  with  the  people  of  the  City  of  San  German,  and  was  not  seen 
jigain.  The  Auditors,  saying  that  the  Alcalde  ought  to  have 
waited  their  answer,  arrested  him,  and  informed  the  King  of  the 
case,  and  of  the  bad  state  of  the  fortress,  in  order  that  in  its 
fortification  some  system  should  be  followed,  and  that  orders 
should  be  given  to  supply  it  with  men,  artillery  and  ammunition.* 

This  English  ship  f  led  to  much  thought,  because,  until  then, 
not  one  from  that  nation  had  been  seen  in  those  parts,  and  there 
fore  the  King,  as  well  as  those  in  the  Island,  were  anxious  about 
it.  The  King  would  have  desired  that  another  course  had  been 
followed  in  Santo  Domingo,  and  that  the  ship  ought  to  have  been 
taken  by  force  or  by  cunning,  because  it  was  held  as  a  perilous 
matter  that  the  French,  who  already  caused  so  much  damage  in 
Spain,  J  should  have  begun  to  find  the  way  to  the  Indies.  On 
this  account  it  was  considered  what  remedy  could  be  used  against 
the  inconvenience  of  having  that  nation  §  learn  the  way  of  navi 
gating  to  the  Indies. 

As  for  the  imprisoned  Alcalde,  the  King  ordered  the  Auditors 
to  release  him,  that  he  might  assist  in  the  fortress,  and  that  in 
his  case  they  should  proceed  by  a  trial  and  let  him  know  what 
they  determined.  If  other  ships  should  come  to  the  Island,  they 
were  always  to  have  an  interview  with  them,  and  keep  them 
guarded  so  that  they  might  not  escape,  as  this  one  had  done.  At 
the  very  least,  they  should  seize  the  crew,  or  a  part  of  it,  or  make 
such  demonstrations,  even  of  the  most  severe  kind,  that  they 
would  take  care  not  to  come  again. 

*  Navarro's  report  ends  here.    The  rest  is  by  Hen-era  from  other  sources. 

f  Finding  her  way  to  the  Islands. 

\  This  is  an  allusion  to  Verrazano  and  the  French  corsairs. 

§  The  Spaniards  at  that  time  feared  the  French  more  than  the  English. 
Within  a  quarter  of  a  century  they  were  to  suffer  in  their  own  seas  of  the 
West  Indies  from  Buccaneers  of  both  nationalities. 


150  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

Further,  because  of  the  number  of  French  Corsairs  who  fre 
quented  the  coast  of  Andalusia,  and  it  became  necessary  to  guard 
it,  the  Count  of  Osorno  Asistente  de  Se villa,  was  ordered  to  fit 
out  a  fleet  of  five  or  six  ships,  and  that  it  should  be  arranged  that 
the  (Casa  de)  Contratacion  should  assist  in  the  expense  of  it,  as  it 
was  done  for  its  protection.  Artillery  was  to  be  borrowed  to 
arm  the  ships  from  the  Dukes  of  Medina  Sidonia  and  Arcos,  and 
from  the  Marquesses  of  Tarifa  and  Ajamonte. 


XLV.— HAKLUYT  ON  RUT'S  VOYAGE  OF  1527. 

Hakluyt  (Divers  Voy.,  1582)  says  that  Robert  Thome's  letter 
written  from  Seville  in  1527,*  to  Henry  the  Eighth,  led  to  the 
fitting  out  of  two  vessels  on  discovery  westward,  which  sailed, 
according  to  the  Chronicle  of  Hall  and  Grafton,  May  20th  of  the 
same  year  from  London,  but  this,  as  Mr.  Biddle  remarks,  could 
hardly  have  been  received  in  time  to  influence  the  despatch  of 
this  expedition.  He  adds  nothing  concerning  the  results  obtained, 
but  in  his  work  of  1589,  p.  517,  he  had  gleaned  from  Sir  Martin 
Frobisher  and  Richard  Allen,  a  few  facts,  but  could  not  learn 
the  name  of  the  commander,  and  that  one  of  the  ships  was  called 
the  Dominus  Vobiscum,  which  was  not  correct.  He  also  heard 
that  a  learned  Canon  of  St.  Pauls,  a  mathematician,  took  part  in 
fitting  out  the  expedition  and  accompanied  it,  that  one  of  the 
vessels  was  lost  near  Labrador,  and  that  the  other  had  coasted 
along  Cape  Breton  and  Norumbega  and  got  home  in  the  begin 
ning  of  October. 

In  his  great  work,  Vol.  Ill,  1600,  p.  129,  the  same  statement 
is  repeated,  with  the  regret  as  before,  that  no  writer  had  pre 
served  a  record  of  the  voyage. 

Curiously  enough,  at  page  499  of  the  same  volume,  he  quotes 
Oviedo's  account  of  the  English  voyage  of  1527,  from  Ramusius, 
and  assuming  the  erroneous  date  1517  for  it,  supposes  that  this 
expedition  was  commanded  by  Sebastian  Cabot. 

*  From  a  note  in  Hakluyt,  1600,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  500,  we  learn  that  he  had  a 
ledger,  once  belonging  to  Nicolas  Thome  the  elder,  in  Bristol,  and  that  he 
found  evidence  in  it  to  show  that  in  1526,  this  Thorne  had  sent  a  certain 
Thomas  Tison  (Tyson)  to  reside  and  traffic  in  the  West  Indies. 


TIRABOSCHI —  GARLICS  LETTER.  151 

XL  VI.— TIRABOSCHI. 

The  first  edition  of  the  "  Storia  della  Letteratura  Italiana, 
antica  e  moderna;  del.  Cav.  Abate  Girolamo  Tiraboschi," 
appeared  first  at  Mantua,  1771-82,  in  13  vols.  in  4to-  We  could 
not  verify  our  reference  by  consulting  this  edition,  but  have 
copied  it  from  Vol.  VII,  part  1,  p.  260,  of  the  Florence  edition 
of  1819. 

After  speaking  of  Verrazano's  earlier  career,  and  referring  to  the 
notice  in  the  "  Elogi  degi'  illustri  Toscani.  Tom.  2,  No.  30,"  and 
giving  a  brief  sketch  of  his  voyage  of  1524,  he  says  :  "  Nella 
libreria  Strozziana  in  Firenze,  oltre  la  Relazione  sopraccenata,  con- 
servasi  manoscritta  una  Narrazione  cosmographica  assai  bene- 
distesa  di  tutti  i  paesi  ch'egli  avea  in  quel  viaggio  osservati,  e 
da  essa  raccogliesi  ch'egli  ancora  avea  formate  il  disegno  di  ten- 
tar  per  quei  mari  il  passagio  all'  Indie  orientali." 

He  then  mentions  the  uncertainty  hanging  over  his  fate,  and 
gives  the  reference  to  the  letter  of  Annibale  Caro  of  1539,  which 
he  first  discovered. 


XL VII.— CARLI'S  LETTER. 

Archive  Storico  Italiano  ossia  raccolta  di  opere  e  document!  finora  inediti  o  divemiti  raris- 
simi  risguardanti  la  Storia  d'  Italia.  Appendice.  Tomo  IX.  Firenze.  Gio.  Pietro  Vieus- 
seux,  direttore-editore  al  suo  Gabinetto  Scieutifico  Letterario,  1853. 

Letter  of  Fernando  Carli  to  his  Father. 

In  the  name  of  God. 

4th  day  of  August,  1524. 

HONORED  FATHER. — Remembering  that  when  I  was  in  the 
Barbary  fleet  at  Garbieh,*  the  news  which  were  daily  given  you 
from  the  illustrious  Sig.  Don  Hugo  de  Moncada,f  captain -general 

*  Charles  had  been  outbidding  Francis  for  the  Imperial  Crown,  and  in 
order  to  signalize  himself,  he  prepared  in  1519,  an  expedition  against  the 
Barbary  powers. 

f  Hugo  de  Moncada,  Viceroy  of  Sicily,  sailed  April  15,  1520,  with  6,400 
infantry,  320  light  horsemen  and  560  men-at-arms,  besides  officers  and  vol-. 
unteers,  on  56  vessels  for  Garbieh,  an  Island  bet\veen  the  Daniietta  and 
Rosetta  mouths  of  the  Nile,  and  gained  a  signal  victory  there  in  June.  See 
Documentos  Ineditos  para  la  Hist,  de  Esp.  Vols.  23,  24. 


152  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

of  his  Imperial  Majesty  in  those  barbarous  parts,  while  pursuing 
and  fighting  the  Moors  of  that  Island,  it  appears  pleased  many 
of  our  patrons  and  friends,  and  that  you  were  congratulated  by 
them  on  the  victory  achieved;  so,  there  are  news  again,  recently 
received  here  of  the  arrival  of  the  Captain  Giovanni  da  Verraz- 
zano,  our  Florentine,  at  the  port  of  Dieppe,  in  Normandy,  with 
his  ship,  the  Delfina,  with  which,  at  the  end  of  January  last,  he 
went  from  the  Canary  Islands  (Madeira)  in  search  of  new  coun 
tries  for  this  most  serene  crown  of  France,  displaying  great  and 
very  noble  courage  by  engaging  as  he  did  in  an  unknown  navi 
gation  with  a  single  sail,  hardly  a  caravel  of tons,  having 

only  fifty  men,  with  the  purpose,  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  of 
discovering  Cathay  by  taking  the  way  through  climates  different 
from  those  in  which  the  Portuguese  are  accustomed  to  make  dis 
coveries  toward  Calicut;  but  going  toward  the  Northwest  and 
the  North,  holding  on  his  way  so  as  to  find  some  country  or 
other.  Although  Ptolemy,  Aristotle  and  other  cosmographers 
laid  down,  that  no  land  was  to  be  found  in  the  direction  of  such 
climates;  and  thus  by  God  has  he  been  permitted  to  do,  as  he 
distinctly  describes  in  a  letter  to  this  sacred  Majesty,  a  copy  of 
which  is  inclosed  in  this.  After  many  months  spent  in  naviga 
tion,  he  was  obliged,  as  he  states,  for  want  of  provisions,  to 
return  from  that  hemisphere  to  this,  having  been  seven  months 
on  the  voyage,  indicating  a  very  great  and  rapid  passage  made 
in  the  performance  of  an  admirable  and  extraordinary  feat,  to  the 
mind  of  those  who  understand  the  navigation  of  the  globe. 
The  commencement  of  that  voyage  was  marked  with  disaster, 
and  many  thought  that  there  never  would  be  news  of  him,  or  of 
the  ship;  that  it  must  be  lost  about  the  height  of  Norway,  by 
reason  of  the  huge  ice  in  that  Northern  ocean;  but,  as  that 
Moor  said,  the  great  God,  to  give  us  every  day  more  evidences 
of  his  infinite  power,  and  to  show  us  how  admirable  in  this 
earthly  machine,  has  discovered  to  him  an  extent  of  land,  as  you 
will  observe,  so  vast,  that  according  to  the  good  reasons  and 
degrees  by  elevation  of  latitude,  it  appears  and  shows  itself  to 
be  larger  than  Europe,  Africa,  and  a  part  of  Asia;  ergo  mundus 
•novus :  and  this  is  without  what  the  Spaniards  have  these  many 
years  found  in  the  West;  for  it  is  hardly  a  year  since  Ferrando 
Magaghiana  [Magalhaens]  having  discovered  an  immense  conn- 


CARLES  LETTER.  153 

try,  returned  in  one  ship  of  five  with  which  he  went  out,  bring 
ing  back  cloves  that  are  much  better  than  common;  and  of  his 
other  ships  in  five  years  no  news  has  been  heard.  They  are  sup 
posed  to  be  lost.  What  our  captain  brought,  he  does  not  men 
tion  in  his  letter,  except  a  young  man  of  those  countries  made 
captive,  but  it  is  believed  that  he  has  brought  a  specimen  of 
gold,  in  that  region  of  no  value,  of  drugs  and  other  aromatic 
liquors,  to  confer  with  many  merchants  here,  after  having  been 
in  the  presence  of  his  Most  Serene  Majesty,  where  he  should  be 
at  this  hour;  and  from  there  to  come  here  soon,  for  he  is  much 
desired  for  his  conversation,  the  more  because  he  will  see  his 
Majesty,  our  Sire,  who  is  expecting  to  arrive  within  three  or  four 
days;*  and  we  hope  that  his  Majesty  will  once  more  give  him 
half  a  dozen  good  vessels  to  make  the  voyage  again.  And  if 
our  Francisco  Carli  shall  have  returned  from  Cairo,  be  assured 
he  will  adventure  himself  with  him  on  said  voyage,  and  I  believe 
they  knew  each  other  at  Cairo,  where  he  was  some  years  since 
and  not  only  in  Egypt  and  Soria  [Syria]  but  nearly  throughout 
the  known  world;  and  therefore  on  account  of  his  merit,  he  is 
esteemed  another  Amerigo  Vespucci,  another  Ferrando  Magag- 
hiana  and  even  more;  and  we  hope  that  by  providing  himself 
with  other  good  ships  and  vessels  well  built  and  victualled  as 
requisite,  he  will  find  some  profitable  traffic  and  business;  and  he 
will  do,  our  Lord  sending  him  life,  honor  to  our  country  by 
acquiring  immortal  fame  and  memory.  And  Alderotto  Brunel- 
leschi,  who  went  with  him,  and  unfortunately  turned  back, 
unwilling  to  follow  him  farther,  when  he  there  hears  of  it  will 
not  be  well  pleased.  Nothing  else  now  occurs  to  me;  since  by 
others  I  have  advised  you  of  what  is  doing.  I  commend  myself 
to  you  continually,  praying  you  to  mention  me  to  our  friends, 
not  forgetting  Pierfrancesco  Dagaghiano,f  who  being  a  studious 
person  does  not  idle  much  time,  and  to  him  recommend  me;  also 
to  Rustichi,  who  will  not  be  displeased  (if  he  should  take  delight 
as  formerly)  in  hearing  of  matters  concerning  cosmography. 
May  God  guard  you  from  all  evil. 

Your  Son, 

FERNANDO  CARLI, 

in  Lyons. 

*  See  also,  Doc.  Ined,  vol.  23.  \  Perhaps  Gugliano. 


154  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

XL VIII.— JEAN  ALFONSE. 

Jean  Alfonse  de  Saintonge,  the  pilot  of  Roberval,  who  was  in 
Canada,  1542-1543,  and  who  appears  to  have  sailed  along  our 
Coast  about  that  time,  left  a  manuscript  cosmography,  completed 
in  1545,  which  is  in  the  Nat.  Library,  Paris  (MSB.  f.  fr.  676),  in 
which  no  mention  is  made  of  Verrazano's  voyage,  ]  8  years  before 
his  own,  nor  does  he  appear  to  have  had  a  knowledge  of  any  early 
charts  of  the  coast.  The  confused  sketches  of  the  coast  which 
accompany  the  MS.  are  in  detached  sections  (perhaps  not  of  his 
own  compiling),  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Florida.  Editions  of  his 
work,  under  the  title  of  "  Voyages  avantureux  du  Capitaine  Jean 
Alfonce,  Saintongeois,"  appeared  in  1559,  about  twelve  years  after 
his  death,  and  again  in  1578  and  1598.  The  published  work, 
however,  is  not  as  full  as  the  MS.,  which  is  deeply  interesting  to 
American  students,  in  those  parts  that  profess  to  describe  our 
coasts.  Although  a  portion  of  his  printed  work  is  given  by  Hak- 
luyt  (Voyages,  Vol.  Ill,  1600,  fol.  239),  it  seems  never  to  have 
occurred  to  any  one  that  he  ought  to  be  considered  as  an  explorer 
of  our  coast,  until  Mons.  Margry,  in  "  Navigations  Francaises," 
&c.,  Paris,  1867,  p.  323,  drew  attention  to  the  passage  (also  given 
by  Hakluyt),  in  which  he  distinctly  avers  that  he  had  entered  a 
bay  in  lat.  42°.  The  Rev.  B.  F.  De  Costa  has  treated  this  subject 
in  detail  in  his  "Northmen  in  Maine,  1870." 

We  believe  that  neither  Mess.  Leon  Guerin,  Davesac  or  Margry, 
who  have  noticed  this  experienced  navigator,  were  aware  of  the 
mode  of  his  death.  We  may  therefore  be  excused  for  drawing 
attention  to  the  following  account  of  it,  and  also  because  Verra 
zano's  fate  may  have  been  somewhat  similar,  and  perhaps  now 
lies  recorded  in  some  document  not  hitherto  consulted. 

The  poet,  Melin  de  Saint  Gelais,  in  the  verses  which  accom 
pany  the  first  edition  of  the  "Voyages  avantureux,"  of  1559, 
refers  vaguely  to  some  passages  in  the  life  of  this  forgotten  pilot 
and  corsair,  and  says  of  his  death  : 

"  La  mort  aussi  n'a  point  craint  son  effroy, 
Ses  gros  canons,  ses  darts,  son  feu,  sa  fouldre, 
Mais  1'assaillant  1'a  mis  en  tel  desroy 
Que  rien  de  luy  ne  reste  plus  que  poudre." 


JEAN  ALFONSE.  155 

We  quote  these  lines  from  Harrisse's  "  Notes  sur  la  Nouvelle 
France,  Paris,  1872,"  p.  8,  who  adds  that  Alphonse  appeared  to 
have  been  killed  in  a  naval  combat,  which  must  have  taken  place 
before  the  7th  of  March,  1547,  the  date  of  the  Imprimatur  of  the 
edition  of  1550,  which  contains  the  verses  of  Saint  Gelais. 

JBarcia,  Ensayo  cronologico  para  la  Ilistoria  General  de  la 
Florida.  Madrid,  1723,  fol.  58. 

"  This  and  other  like  deeds  brought  him  [Menendez]  into  such 
credit  that  in  the  following  year  he  was  ordered  by  the  Emperor 
Maximilian,*  who  then  governed  in  Spain,  to  go  against  Juan 
Alphonso,  the  Portuguese  f  (who  was  called  the  Frenchman  by 
the  Spaniards),  a  Corsair,  who  had  taken,  near  Cape  St.  Vincent, 
10  or  12  Biscayan  vessels,  loaded  with  iron,  iron  work  and  other 
valuable  merchandise.  He  had  hardly  received  the  order,  when 
he  proceeded  straight  to  the  coast  of  Brittany  and  to  LaRochelle, 
recaptured  five  of  the  vessels  taken,  and  entering  with  one  near 
the  reef  of  La  Rochelle,  where  he  anchored,  he  fought  with  Juan 
Alphonso,  and  wounded  him  ;  and  when  he  wished  to  go  out  by 
the  way  he  came  in,  he  could  not,  having  wind  and  tide  against 
him.  The  magistrate  of  the  Port  ordered  him  to  land;  which  he 
did,  showing  his  commission,  and  giving  the  reasons  for  taking 
those  prizes  which  they  had  made,  breaking  the  peace.  But  the 
magistrate  would  not  let  them  go  ;  placing  them  in  deposit 
(depositolas),  so  that  those  interested  would  seek  to  recover  them. 
Not  being  able  to  do  otherwise,  he  obtained  certificates,  sending 
one  to  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  who  was  in  Flanders,  and 
the  other  he  took  himself. 

Juan  Alphonso  died  of  his  wounds,  and  his  son,  Antonio 
Alphonso,  was  so  indignant  about  it,  that,  with  his  patrimony, 
he  inherited  the  art  of  piracy  of  his  father,  and  sent  to  defy 
Pedro  Menendez,  notifying  him  that  he  should  put  to  sea  after 
two  months,  and  he  did  so,  with  three  ships,  very  good  ones.  He 
sailed  towards  the  Indies,  where  he  learned  that  Menendez  was 

*Barcia  is  mistaken  here.  This  Maximilian  was  the  eldest  son  of  Ferdi 
nand  of  Austria,  and  his  wife  was  the  Princess  Mary,  daughter  of  the 
Emperor.  The  Emperor  left  Spain  in  1540,  and  his  son  Philip  left  it  in  1548. 

f  He  was  certainly  a  Frenchman,  from  Saintonge,  near  Cognac,  but  had 
been  in  the  Portuguese  service,  and  AVRS  familiar  with  the  navigation  to 
Brazil.  Barcia,  p.  24,  mentions  him  as  Alonzo  (gallego  o  Portugues). 


156  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

going.  He  went  to  await  him  at  Teneriffe,  and  there  attacked 
two  ships  to  capture  them,  but  a  ball  from  the  Spaniards  cut  him 
to  pieces,  sinking  the  ship  afterwards  ;  and  shortly  after  that 
Pedro  Menendez  took  the  two  others." 

Pedro  Menendez  de  Aviles  was  born  1519.  Took  to  the  sea 
when  quite  young,  distinguished  himself,  was  made  Adelantado 
of  Florida,  and  died  aged  55,  in  Biscay,  when  just  about  to  lead 
the  Great  Armada  of  three  hundred  sail,  against  the  English. 
It  is  said  that  he  had  made  over  fifty  voyages  to  the  Indies. 


XLIX.— BUCKINGHAM    SMITH'S  NOTICES  OF  VERRA- 
ZANO'S  VOYAGE. 

The  late  Buckingham  Smith  of  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  was 
deeply  interested  in  all  that  related  to  the  early  discovery,  explo 
ration  and  settlement  of  his  native  State.  He  printed  several 
documents  from  the  Spanish  Archives  bearing  on  this  subject, 
and  also  annotated  the  narratives  of  De  Soto  and  Cabeza  de 
Vaca,  but  in  such  limited  editions  that  they  are  not  generally 
known. 

He  left  some  manuscripts,  copied  in  Spain,  a  selection  from 
which  may  at  some  future  time  be  edited  and  published  by  those 
who  have  charge  of  them.  Among  these  were  some  documents 
or  notes  relating  to  the  supposed  death  of  Verrazano  at  the 
hands  of  the  Spaniards. 

Mr.  Smith,  in  his  zeal  to  establish  the  claims  of  the  Spaniards 
to  the  discovery  of  our  coasts,  was  wont  to  discredit  all  that 
interfered  with  them,  and  thus  endeavored  to  prove  that  the  voy 
age  of  1524  by  Verrazano,  was  a  fiction.  He  first  expressed  this 
theory  in  a  paper  read  before  the  New  York  Historical  Society, 
October  4th,  1864,  followed  by  a  resume  of  it  in  the  Historical 
Magazine  for  June,  1865. 

We  met  soon  afterwards,  when  he  was  shown,  as  confirming 
the  voyage  of  1524,  the  almost  cotemporary  statement  of  Crig- 
non,  as  given  by  Estancelin,  and  the  notice  of  the  Mapamundi 
of  1529,  discovered  by  M.  Thomassy  in  Rome.  He  gave  a  trans 
lation  of  this  last  notice  in  the  Historical  Magazine  for  October, 


NOTICES  OF  VERRAZANO' s  VOYAGE.        157 

1866,  but  mistook  the  sense  of  the  Italian  words  carta  pecora, 
supposing  they  meant  small  Map,  and  expressed  no  confidence 
in  the  Map  as  a  document  confirming  the  letter. 

Soon  afterwards  he  read  the  agreement  between  Admiral  Cha- 
bot  and  Verrazano,  given  by  Mons.  Margry  in  his  Navigations 
Francaises,  and  gave  it  translated,  in  the  Historical  Magazine  for 
January,  1869,  with  some  prefatory  remarks  which  we  quote 
here. 

"  The  following  draft  for  a  Charter  party,  with  promise  of 
the  approbation  of  Francis  I.,  for  a  voyage  to  India,  was  discov 
ered  in  the  Bibliotheque  Imperiale,  and  first  published  last  year, 
in  the  original,  by  M.  Pierre  Margry,  in  his  work,  Les  Naviga 
tions  Francaises  du  XI  Ve  au  XVIe,  Siecle.  The  enterprise 
contemplated,  as  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  volumes  of 
Francisco  d' And rade,  Cronica  do  Muyto  alto  e  muyto  podiroso 
Hey  destes  Reynos  de  Portugal  Don  Jbas  a  III  deste  nome, 
printed  at  Lisbon,  in  1613,  was  to  form  a  settlement  in  Brazil, 
and  wras  defeated  in  France  by  the  Portuguese  Minister,  Silveyra, 
in  whose  time,  we  read,  a  period  of  nine  years,  from  1523,  dur 
ing  his  continuance  at  Paris,  no  other  attempt  appears  to  have 
been  made  from  France,  at  a  voyage  of  like  character. 

The  author  of  Les  Navigations  observes  that  this  Document 
could  not  have  been  drawn  up  earlier  than  1526,  the  year  in 
which  Cabot  received  the  office  of  Admiral  and  the  Government 
of  Burgundy,  in  recompense  of  his  services  in  delivering  the 
King  from  the  prisons  of  Charles  V.  The  date  is  subsequent  to 
that  of  the  Letter  of  Verrazzano,  1524,  giving  account  of  his 
discovery  of  the  Northeast  coast  of  America,  and  proves  the 
assertion  of  some  Spanish  writers  not  to  have  been  exact,  that 
his  execution  took  place  in  that  year. — B.  S. " 

We  cannot  here  attempt  to  refute  or  criticise  Mr.  Smith's 
doubts  more  fully  than  we  have  done,  in  the  course  of  the  above 
paper  and  notes.  His  opinions,  when  analyzing  early  Spanish 
narratives,  are  of  great  weight,  but  he  paid  little  attention  to 
the  early  French  or  English  ones,  which  did  not  interest  him. 

The  following  are  his  published  notices  on  Verrazano: 

The  globe  of  Euphrosynus  Ulpianus,  1542.  Historical  Maga 
zine,  1862,  p.  202. 

An  Inquiry  into  the   authenticity  of  documents  concerning  a 


158  NOTES  ON  THE  VERRAZANO  MAP. 

discovery  in  North  America,  claimed  to  have  been  made  by  Yer- 
razano.  Read  before  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  Tuesday, 
October  4th,  1864.  By  Buckingham  Smith,  New  York,  1864  (8° 
pp.  31,  with  copy  of  part  of  the  globe  of  1542).  Contains  quo 
tations  from  Caro's,  and  the  whole  of  Carli's  letter. 

Yerrazano  as  a  discoverer.  Hist.  Mag.,  1865,  pp.  169,  175. 
(Contains  a  review  of  his  Inquiry,  &c.) 

Remarks  on  Mr.  Smith's  paper  on  Magallanes  and  Gomez.  (By 
Mr.  Smith.)  Hist.  Mag.,  1866,  p.  230. 

Map  of  the  World,  containing  the  discovery  of  Yerrazano, 
drawn  by  Hieronimus  de  Yerrazano.  Hist.  Mag.,  1866,  pp. 
299-300.  Contains  only  Thomassy's  notice  of  the  Map. 

Yerrazano.  (Charter  party  for  a  voyage  to  India,  &c.,  with 
prefatory  remarks.)  Hist.  Mag.,  1869,  p.  28. 


L.— J.  G.  KOHL  ON  YERRAZANO'S  YOYAGE. 

No  critical  examination  of  Yerrazano's  voyage  along  our  coast 
had  been  attempted  by  a  geographer  until  Dr.  J.  G.  Kohl,  in  his 
interesting  "History  of  the  Discovery  of  Maine,"  in  1869,  gave 
it  especial  attention.  He  had  not  seen  the  chart  by  Hieronimus 
(see  op.  cit.  p.  290,  note),  or  his  opinions  would  have  been  mate 
rially  changed.  The  absence,  in  the  letter,  of  any  definite  descrip 
tion  of  our  coast  (which  description  was  probably  minutely 
given  in  the  " little  book"  alluded  to),  makes  it  impossible  to 
trace  Yerrazano's  exploration  with  certainty. 

Dr.  Kohl  is  also  disposed  to  accept  Yerrazano's  claim  to  have 
coasted  from  lat.  34  deg.  to  50  deg.  We  have  shown  that  his 
landfall  could  not  have  been  South  of  lat.  39  deg.  05  min.,  as  he 
had  been  swept  North  by  the  Gulf  stream  (whose  history  Dr. 
Kohl  has  published),  and  that  the  chart  shows  no  geographical 
features  which  could  permit  any  other  assumption.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  no  correct  observation  could  be  taken  at  that 
time  on  board  ship,  and  his  landings  were  too  hurried  to  permit 
the  setting  up  of  his  larger  instruments,  so  that  the  only  reliable 
observation  was  the  one  taken  in  Newport  harbor,  where  he 
tarried  for  a  fortnight. 


KOHL  ON  VERRAZANO*  s  VOYAGE.  159 

Dr.  Kohl,  as  others  have  done-  before  him,  by  assuming  the 
landfall  to  have  been  in  lat.  34  deg.  has,  of  course,  to  make  the 
landings  of  the  explorer  fall  so  much  more  to  the  South  of  the 
points  where  we  place  them.  This  has  always  prevented  a  proper 
understanding  of  the  letter.  We  shall  not,  therefore,  undertake 
to  correct  Dr.  Kohl,  who,  with  others,  agrees  upon  Newport 
harbor  as  the  place  where  Verrazano  stayed  two  weeks. 

Dr.  Kohl  has  not  observed  that  in  at  least  two  places,  that  is 
in  the  paragraphs  we  have  numbered  as  9  and  14,  the  writer  of 
the  letter  repeats  himself,  thus  leading  one  to  suppose  that  he 
had  coasted  more  than  was  really  the  case. 

His  observation  that  the  people  of  the  more  northerly  lands 
visited  by  Verrazano,  were  acquainted  with  the  use  of  iron,  and 
opposed  to  the  landing  of  strangers,  is  ascribed  to  its  true  cause, 
the  visits  to  their  coasts  by  fishing  vessels. 

The  voyage  of  Gomez,  in  1525,  and  Rut's  expedition  of  1527, 
are  also  carefully  treated  by  Dr.  Kohl,  who  deserves  the  thanks 
of  all  American  students  for  the  many  geographical  memoirs  he 
has  published. 


ADDITIONAL   NOTES. 

.JK  78 — Note  VITI. — The  Emperor,  in  a  despatch  dated  June  6th, 
1523,  directed  Cortes  to  search  for  a  Strait  along  the 
coasts  of  both  oceans. 

82 — Add  to  foot-note — Carlo  Passi,  in  the  Discorso  to  his  Italian 
version  of  the  Legatio  Babylonica,  entitled  "  Relation*, 
del  S..Pietro  Martire"  &c.,  Venetia,  1564,  speaks  of  the 
•Somario  as  known  to  have  been  prepared  by  Ramusius. 


COREIGEISTDA. 

PAGK  21 — Eighth  line  from  below — put  comma  after  surrender. 

33 — Fourteenth  line  from  below — them  read  the  papers. 

33 — Tenth  line  from  below — add  for  1837. 

59  —  Fitth  line  from  below — mouth  read.  jaws. 

59 — Fourth  line  from  below — Rut  read  himself. 

(53 — Sixteenth  line  Jrorn  top — the  author  read  its  author. 

80 — Seventeenth  line  from  top — dele  §  mark. 

S3 — Seventh  line  from  below — 1532  read  1522 
104 — Tenth  line  from  below — Magliabechian  read  Magliabecchian. 
107 — Sixth  line  of  note — which  was  and  a  read  not  and  the. 
\  \  1  — Eleventh  line  from  below — or  read  on. 
\  17 — Second  line  from  below — invented  read  described. 
1  1!) — Fifth  line  from  top — known  as  read  of. 
12H — Second  line  from  top — for  6  read  60. 

127 — Twelfth  and  thirteenth  lines  from  top — dele  commas  after 
left  and  rig] it. 

127 — Second  line  from  below — ten  read  twelve  and  a  half. 
129 — Sixth  line  from  top — dispagloli  read  dispagnoli. 
129 — Seventh  line  from  below — Abren  read  Abreu. 
133 — Sixteenth  line  from  below — Collecion  read  Coleccion. 

137 — Fourth,    sixth,  and   fourteenth   lines   from   top — Verrazano 

read  Verrazana. 

141 — Eighth  line  from  below — anne  read  anno, 
142 — Second  and  fourteenth  lines  from  below  —  Terra  read  Terre. 
157 — Fourth  paragraph — Cabot  read  Chabot. 

November .  1874. 


